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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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33  WISY  MAIN  SmeiT 

V  .!.'STM,N.V.  MSIO 

(716)173.4303 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIM/iCIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  InttltuM  for  Historical  Microrsproductiont  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductlont  histotlquaa 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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n 

32X 


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empreinte. 

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method: 


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A.MONG  the  vai'ious  relative  duties  which  as  a  Mem* 
ber  of  Civil  Society,  man  is  called  upon  to  perform,  none,  per- 
haps, are  of  more  importance,  than  those  which  he  owes  to  him- 
self. And,  probably,  the  fulfilment  of  these,  is  attended  with 
more  serious  diiTicuIties  than  the  performance  of  those  duties 
which  he  owes  to  his  neighbour. — The  Laws  of  our  Countrj', 
and  the  customs  and  manners  of  the  community  in  which  we 
live,  point  out  pretty  clearly,  the  line  of  conduct  which  we  ought 
to  pursue,  in  reference  to  tlje  rights  and  feelings  of  our  neigh- 
bour ;  but,  witii  regard  to  the  exact  bound  which  ought  to 
cu'cumscribc  iho  mciiives  and  actions  by  which  we  ought  to' 
be  governed,  as  relates  to  ourselves,  it  cannot  be  so  easily  de- 
termined. 

Our  common  nature  places  us  all  nearly  upon  a  level 
as  to  fedlibility  ; — One  man  may  be  governed  by  one  passion^ 
and  the  conduct  of  another  man,  may  be  directed  by  a  passioii- 
of  a  different  description,  and  still,  both  may  be  in  the  wrong  ; 
or,  at  least,  they  may  allow  their  respective  ruling  principles 
to  exercise  an  undue  influence  upon  their  feelings  and  actions. 

The  different  stations  in  life  which  we  are  called  upon 
lo  fill,  also,  have  their  concomitant  trials  and  temptations  to  be 
struggled  with,  and  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  few,  who,  on  an  im- 
partial retrospect  of  their  past  lives,  can  satisfy  themselves,  that 
they  have  at  all  times  adopted  that  line  of  conduct  which  dis-" 
cretion  would  have  pointed  out,  had  they  been  disinterested, 
and  judging  for  others  instead  of  judging  for  themselves. 

Under  all  these  difficulties,  every  man  has  a  right,  and 
it  is  his  bounden  duty,  to  form  a  judgment  of  the  .rectitude  of 
those  motives  bv  which  he   is  actuated  in  his  Iritercoiurse  with 


i 


1 


^i^rrsssmmmim 


f  * 


It 


' 


-  IV 

his  fellow  men.-— When  he  has  satisfied  his  mind  on  this  point, 
with  regard  to  any  particular  step  he  is  about  to  take,  he  ought 
from  a  regard  to  his  own  conscience,  to  proceed  *in  it,  disre- 
gardless  of  the  views  which  others  may  be  inclined  to  take  re- 
specting it.  ' 

I 

Believing  that  these  general  preliminary  reniarks  will 
be  admitted  as  correct,  and  being  fully  convinced  that  every 
man,  in  order  to  maintain  his  respectability  in  society  must  be 
careful  to  respect  himself,  I  trust,  that  no  further  apology  will 
be  considered  necessary  for  my  obtruding  on  the  Public  notice 
on  this  occasion. 

In  reference  to  the  late  General  Court  Martial  held  in 
this  City,  and  more  particularly  so,  with  regard  to  the  manner 
in  which  its  sentence  has  been  sent  out  into  the  world,  I  con- 
ceive 1  have  good  grounds  for  believing,  diat  those  who  are  not 
acquainted  with  all  the  circumstances  of  my  case,  may  be  led 
to  form  an  erruueous  opinion,  buth  of  my  public  and  private 
character. 

I  THINK,  therefore,  I  am  only  performing  that  dutf 
which  every  man  owes  to  himself,  in  laying  before  the  Public 
the  Minutes  of  that  Court,  together  with  a  narration  of  the 
circumstances  connected  with  my  trial. 

LEWIS.  BURNS. 
Saini  Johttf  (New-Brunsmckt)  2bth  Februaryf  1828. 


Lieutt 
Majoi 
Majoi 
Majoi 
Majoi 
C^pta 


Th 

Boarc 
read  i 
BuR^ 


Firs 


■!>A 


8ec( 


Tail 


<B 


Af 
next 


fiSiinnttsi  at  ^vottMnon 


or  THB 


COURT  MARTIAL,  &c. 


MEMBERS. 


Lieutenant-Colonel  Charles  Drury,  President. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Simonds,  ^Lieutenant-Colonel  Hatch, 
Major  D.  B.  Wetmore,  ^  Major  Anderson, 

Major  G.  MiNCHiN,  ^  Major  Ward, 

Major  MowATT,  \  Major  J.  C.  Vail, 

Major  C.  P.  Wetmore,  ^  Captain  H.  Flaherty. 

Captain  R,  W.  Crooksh an k, {Captain  J.  V.  Thurgar. 


The  Members  of  Court  havinc  taken  their  seats  at  the 
Board,  G.  ¥.  Street,  Esq.  the  Juage  Advocate,  proceeded  to 
read  the  following  Charges,  preferred  against  Captain  Lewis 
Burns,  by  Major  B.  L.  Peters. 

CHARGES.  , 

First.    For  contomptuoua  and  improper  conduct  as  an  Officer,  in  refusing  to  receira  ' 
the  Muster  Roll  of  No.  1  Battalion  Ccmpany  on  the  1st  of  September  instant, 
when  hartded  to  hira  by  the  Adjutant  of  the  Batlalion,  by  order  of  thelVIajor 
Commanding.     He  the  said  Lewis  Burns  having  been  duly  attached  to  the  com* 
maud  of  the  said  Company  by  a  previous  Order  fur  that  purpose  duly  issued. 

Seconb.  For  neglect  of  duty  as  an  Officer,  in  not  taking  charge  and  command  of 
■aid  Company,  Avhen  duly  appointed  thereto,  and  not  performing  the  duties 
belonging  to  that  Office,  u  required  by  tho  Laws  for  the  organization  and 
regulation  of  the  Militia. 

Tbiro.  For  disobedience  of  orders  as  an  Officer,  in  not  ordering  or  calling  out  th« 
said  Company  for  Drill  and  Inspection,  in  the  present  year,  at  the  several 
days  and  tiroes  for  that  purpose  duly  named  and  appointed,  under  and  by  vir« 
tue  of  the  said  Militia  Laws. 

(Dated)  Head-Quarters,  Fredericton,  I9th  of  September,  1827. 

By  Qommand. 

(Signed)  GEO.  SHORE,  Adjt.  Gen.  M.  F. 

After  the  charges  were  lead,  the  Court  was  adjourned  until 
next  day. 


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According  to  adjournment,  the  Court  was  re-opened  or  Wed- 
nesday the  It..,  at  10  A.  M.  , 

A  document,  said  to  be  a  Warrant  from  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  for  holding  the  Court  Martial,  was  then  read  by  the 
Ju'lge  Advocate.  Captain  Burns  having  requested  of  the  Court 
to  be  allowed  the  liberty  of  perusing  the  document  himself,  and 
this  being  granted,  he,  upon  reading  the  same,  objected  to  it, 
on  account  of  its.  irregularity;  contending,  that  in  terms  of  the 
24th  sectipn  of  an  Act  passed  the  ITth  March,  1825,  entitled, 
**  An  Act  to  repi'.al  all  ihc  Laws  now  in  force  for  the  organi- 
**  zation  and  rcgulaiion  of  the  Militia^  and  to  make  flirt  her  pro- 
**  vision  for  the  stmc,"  that  it  is  explicitly  provided,  that  any 
General  Court  Martial  oitlered  by  the  Commandcr-in-ChieP, 
shall  be  held  "  h>/  warrant  under  ///.■>•  hand  and  seal" — of  which 
this  instrument  was  manifestly  deficient, — nothing  in  the  shape 
of  a  seal  appearii\:4  ou  its  face,  except  a  coniinou  wafer. 

This  objection,  however,  was  over-ruled  by  the  Court ;  but 
an  exception  was  j^ermitted  to  be  tiiken  on  the  pohit.  The 
Judge  Advocate  then  adminisiered  the  usual  Oath  to  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Drury,  as  Piiesioent  of  the  Court;  and  then 
called  forward  the  other  uiembcrs,  for  the  purpose  of  being  also 
sworn. — During  the  course  of  th'ir.  proceeding.  Captain  Jiurns 
demanded  of  the  Piu^sinnNT,  that  the  Commissions  of  the 
difFerent  Officers  should  be  produced — this  application  however 
was  not  attended  to. 

Captain  Burns  then  objected  to  several  members  of  the 
Court,  ou  account  of  their  being  near  relations  of  Major  Pe- 
ters, the  officer  by  whom  the  charges  were  preferred.  Upon 
this  the  Court  was  immediately  cleared,  and  upon  the  re-open- 
ing of  the  doors,  this  objection  was  also  found  to  have  been 
over-ruled,  and  the  Judge  Advocate  declared;  that  those  Mem- 
bers whose  names  appeared  on  the  list,  were  eligible  to  try  the 
cause  about  to  be  brought  before  them.  Here  Captain  Burns 
openly  protested  against  the  proceedings,  declared  the  Court  il- 
legal, and  immediately  left  it.  In  the  absence  of  Captain  Burns, 
however,  the  Judge  Advocate  swore  in  the  Members,  and  the 
officer  in  waiting  was  dispatched  to  Captain  Burns,  requiring 
bis  attendance  at  the  Court  Room ; — this  requisition,  Captain 
B.  peremptorily  refused  to  comply  with. 

'' '-  The  Court  was  then  adjourned  until  Tuesday  next  the  6th 
of  October;  and  in  the  interim^  Adjutant-General  Shore  pro- 
ceeded to  Head-Quarters,  to  lay  the  state  of  matters,  at  this 
awkward  crisis,  before  the  Commander-in-Chief. 

Kot  knowing  what  representation  of  the  state  of  affairs,  the 
Adjutant- General  m'ght  be  pleased  to  make  to  His  Excellency, 


*>.' 


■v. 


'"X;:,"; 


I  avikilc 
der-in-^ 
jutant- 
foUows  I 


May  it  { 

tliis  City,  I 
lMv«  to  hi 


«:,' 


f  the 
r  Pe- 

pon 
)en- 
)eeii 
*m- 
the 

urns 
til- 

irns, 
the 


6th 

iro- 
this 


the 

hcy, 


I  avtkiled  myself  of  the  opportunity  of  teritiiig  to  the  Covninan- 
der-in-Chief,  by  the  same  Steam  Boat  which  conveyed  the  Ad« 
jutant-Generai  to  Head-Quarters ; — a  copy  of  my  letter  is  aa 
follows : 

Saint  John,  NovembtT  1,  1827. 

To  His  Excellency  Sir  Howard  Douglas,  Lieutenant •GorerixSr  and 
Coinmandor-in-Chiof  of  the  Province  of  New-lirunswick,  lie.  dec.  Jko. 

May  it  please  your  Excellency,— 

As,  no  doubt,  the  proceedings  of  tlic  "BoAy  assembled  as  a  Court  Mtrtial,  il 
this  City,  for  my  trial,  will  reach  your  Excellency  by  this  Steam  Boat,  I  humbly  b*f~ 
leave  to  hand  to  your  Excellency  my  objections  to  be  tried  by  that  Body. 

Ist.  That  by  section  24  of  the  Militia  Law,  an  Ofiicer  can  only  bfi  tried  hf 
Warrant  under  the  Hand  and  Seal  of  your  Excellency.  In  place  of  such  Warrut,  I 
have  every  reason  to  believe,  the  paper  was  signed  by  Adjutant-General  Shorer,  the 
proseeutor,  though,  probably,  with  intimation  of  its  having  been  so  signed,  to  your 
Excellency. 

2d.  That  I  deny  the  competency  of  any  man,  sitting  on  this  Court  Mar* 
tial,  other  than  a  Commissioned  OfUcer,  as  will  bo  seen  by  reference  to  the  same  sec- 
tion of  the  Militia  Law  as  mentioned  above.  In  ptaae  of  Commissioned  Offieers  alone 
pitting,  I  6nd  that  the  President  and  several  of  the  others,  have  no  Commisalons ;  that 
the  reasons  why  I  object  to  the  sitting  of  any  but  Commissioned  Officers,  are  as  follow ; 
—Ist,  that  in  the  late  instance  of  tho  trial  of  Captain  and  Adjutant  Forrester,  a  Mill* 
tia.Officer,  at  Halifax,  it  was  foundj'that  several  of  tho  Officers  composing  the  Court, 
did  not  hold  their  Commissions,  upon  which  the  President  adjourned  the  Court  until 
the  next  day  ;  and  such  Officers  as  had  no  Commissions,  were  under  the  necessity  of 
going  to  the  proper  Office,  paying  the  fees,  and  taking  them  out. 

8d.  The  well  known  fact  of  Officers  in  Nova-Bi^utia,  liaring  proseailted  indi- 
^duals  in  their  respectivn  Corps.  <'l><»  had  n«i  turned  out  according  to  Law,  having, 
ultimately,  by  decision  of  Civil  Coi:rts,  had  to  rdturn  the  amounts  received,  with  all 
damages,  in  consequence  of  their  not  having  had  Commissions;  the  I^aw  viiew^ng  no 
men  as  an  Officer,  who,  either  himself,  or  by  his  Agent,  has  not  taken  out  his  Com- 
misiion. 

4th.  The  fact  of  Judge,  late  President  Bliss,  the  predecessor  of  your  ExoaU 
Ivnoy,  in  the  administrationof  tho  Government  of  this  Province,  having  issued,  in  tlisi 
Boyal  Gazette,  u  Proclamation,  denying  tho  right  of  any  man  to  appear  •■  an  Offloery 
who  had  not  taken  out  his  Commission. 

So  soon  as  these  objections  are  obviatad,  I  am  most  ready  to  be  tried  by  • 
Court  Martial,  which  I  earnestly  beg  your  Excellency  will  grant;  but  I  could  not 
think  of  submitting  my  public  and  private  charaoter  to  be  discuseed  by  a  body  of  mep, 
who,  in  my  opinion,  were  neither,  by  the  Icjality  of  their  warrant,  nor  their  own  qua- 
lifiaations^  fitted  io  try  me.  I  have  spent  a  great  part  of  my  luTe  in  the  British  .trhiy, 
vihich  I  Icfi:  with  tlio  hii^hcst  lc.stimoiiin.I:i  iu  my  favor ;  and  I  only  beg  that  your  E2x« 
cellency  ft  ill  be  pleased,  to  sco  tlio  law  of  tho  land  carried  into  efikct,  and  thereby 
screen  mn  from  private  malevolence.  If  your  Excelleney  should  not  wish  the  subject 
fortbsr  to  be  agitsied,  I  am  most  willing  to  retire,  on  my  rack  being  secured  to  v\t, 
l*m, 

Your  Excotlenoy's  roast  obedient  humblo  serva'.it, 
(Signed)  ■  LLv-;ts  burns, 

■    Capt.  &  Adji.  1st  Batt.  St.  John  City  Militia". 

Tho  Adjutant-General  havin<T  rctri'ned  from  Fredericton  on 
the  ovenin*:,^  of  the  5tli,  the  Court,  according  to  adjournment^ 
resumed  its  sittings  the  next  day. 

At  an  early  hour,  the  ofRcer  in  waiting  again  called  on  Cap- 
tain Burns,  ticfjuainting  him,  that  his  attendance  was  required 
by  the  President  of  the  Court  Mariiul,  at  the  CourC  Hooitli 
that  day  at  10  o'clock. 

Captain  Bums  attended  accoixlingly,  and  the  charges  agfdnst 
him  were  again  read  by  the  Judge  Aan>C£^tfe,  ';H>    ' 


'  I 


>. 


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!    ••V 

>J-  ' 


Colonel  Shore  wat  then  sworn,  and  examined  by  the  Court* 

"    Q.  What  is  your  rank  in  the  Militia  ? 

A.  I  am  Lieuten&nt-Colonel  in  the  Militia,  and  Adjutant- 
General  of  the  Militia  Forces. 

Q.  Do  you  know  Captain  Burns,  and  what  rank  did  he  hold 
previous  to  October,  1826  ? 

A.  I  know  Captain  Lewis  Burns  as  a  Captain  in  the  Militia 
since  the  year  1821,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Cap- 
tain in  the  1st  Battalion  Saint  John  Militia,  in  the  montli  of 
Ai^ust. 

Q.  What  was  his  rank  previous  to  the  26th  October,  1826  ? 

A.  Captain  and  Adjutant — but  he  has  not  held  the  rank  of 
Adjutant  since  that  period. 

Q.  Have  you  the  order  for  displacing  him  as  Achutant  ? 

A,  •!  have  not — but,  >(here  he  j>roduced  a  book)  1  now  hold 
in  my  hand  a  Letter  Bookt  which  contains  a  copy  of  a  letter 
from  me  to  Major  Peters,  dated  the  26th  of  October,  1826. 

Q.  Then  is  thai  the  order  you  allude  to? 

A,  It  is. 

Q.  To  whom  v/as  that  order  addressed  ? 

A.  To  Major  Benjarain  L.  Peters. 

Q.  Will  you  read  that  order? 

A.  I  will.    •  "   ■    ' 

[Here  Colonel  Shore  read  the  first  clause  of  the  letter  called 
by  him  an  order, — a  copy  of  the  'sahole  of  which  had  been  pre- 
viously transmitted  to  Captain  Burns.] 


Adjutant-General  Shore,  cross-examined  by  Captain  Burns. 

Q.  Was  Major  Peters  appointed  Commanding  Officer  of  the 
1st  Battalion  ?  '•  •   •>.'.   -    "^ 

A.  Major  Peters  was  appointed  Major  ia  1824,  and  is  Major 
at  the  present  time. 

Q.  Have  you  the  General  Order  for  his  appointment  ? 

A.  I  have. 

[Here  Colonel  Shore  produced  the  above-mentioned  Letter 
Book,  and  pointed  out  to  the  Judge  Advocate  something  which 
n;)pearcd  to  be  written  therein — l)ut  he  neither  read,  nor  was 
requested  to  read,  any  part  of  its  contents.] 

Q.  Did  not  Captain  Burns  receive  the  rank  of  Captain,  in  or- 
der that  he  might  be  ena'jled  to  tiike  command  of  the  Battalion 
on  drill  days,  in  the  absence  of  Fitki  Officers? 

...  Captain  Burns  was  appointed  out  of  the  2d  Battalion^ 
Ai^jutant  with  the  rank  of  Captuiu. 


'     4' 


'  V     ''   , 


Court* 

Adjutant- 
el  lie  hold 

\Q  Militia 
k  of  Cap- 
nontli  of 

;r,  1826? 
a  rank  of 

itant? 
now  hold 
f  a  letter 
1826. 


ter  called 
aeen  pre- 


Burns. 
cer  of  the 


is  Major 


lit? 


ed  Letter 
ng  which 
,  nor  was 


iin,  in  or- 
Battalion 

Battalion^ 


Q.  Was  \\\<i  order,  or  letter,  part  of  which  vou  have  novr 
read  to  the  Court,  lor  the  tlisplacement  of  Adjutaat  Burn8» 
published  in  the  lloyal  Gazette.  -  „   .•»•*- 

A.  It  was  not.  ■,,•.' 

Q.  What  was  the  reason  of  that?  ' 

A.  ^Motives  of  delicacy  induced  its  being  suppressed. 

[Here  Colonel  Shore  l)cnf.qed  the  indulgence  of  the  Court  to 
be  allowed  to  sit  down,  as  he  had  remained  four  hours  on  his 
leet  on  his  cross -exaniinalion — leave  granted  ] 

Q.  Was  ?.Iiijnr  Peters  appointed,  by  General  Order  or  by 
Reoimental  Order,  to  the  cojninaud  of  the  1st  Battalion  City 
Militia? 

A.  Major  Peters  was  appointed,  by  General  Order,  to  the  1st 
Biittalion,  andCc!o!iel  Drury  was  appointed  Coloupl,  at  the 
same  time, 

Q.  How  many  Captains  are  there  to  each  Battalion,  accordr 
ing  to  Law  ? 

A.  l"en  Captains. 

Q.  II'mX  Cajitaii'.s  been  appointed  to  all  the  Companies  of 
the  Ist  Battalion,  previous,  to  the  dale  ni  whicli  Adjutant  Burns 
was  appointed  to  it,  with  the  rank  of  Captain  ? 

A.  i  do  not  know — the  Conunaiuling  Oiilcer  of  his  Batta- 
lion knows  best. 

Q,  At  v;ho3o  complaint  were'' the  charges,  nowbefofe  this 
Court,  pii-ierred  ?       v 

A.  That  of  the  Commanding  OfRccr  of  the  Battalion,  Major 
B.  L.  Pi  f.ors. 

Q.  Who  was  Commanding  Officer  of  the  1st  Battalion,  pre- 
vious to  Major  Peters' appointment?         '  ,       - 

A.  Colonel  Drury. 

Q.  Were  the  charges  exhibited  against  Captain  Burns^  re- 
ported to  Colonel  Dniiy  before  they  were  sent  to  Head-Quai'- 
ters  for  the  information  of  the  Commander-in-Chief. 

A.  They  were  not.  1  believe  Colonel  Diury  did  nbt  know 
any  thing  of  the  matter  until  I  sent  iiini  the  warrant  tor  the 
trial  of  Captain  Burns. 

The  Court  having  sat  till  four  o'clock,  the  Judge  Advocate 
adjourned  it  until  ten  A.  M.  th6  following  day.  .    ",  , 

Thursday  the  8di,  the  Court  resumed  its  sittings.    '  ^   .  •  ^ 

Cross-ex'amination  of  Colonel  Shore,  continued : 

Q.  Did  the  Commander-in-Chief  see  the  original  letter,  which 
you  call  a  G^nei'al  Order,  for  the  removal  of  Captain  Burns 
From  the  Adjutancy,  or  a  copy  thereof  ?— Or  did  the  GcMBman- 


} 


? 


- 


V. 


sV 


10 


der-in-Chief  order  Captain  Bums  to  be  appointed  to,  the  com- 
mand of  r  company  ? 

Colonel  Shore  objected  to  this  question,  and,  afler  conside- 
rable debate,  the  Court  over-ruled  its  being  put. 

Here  Captain  Burns  proposed  several  questions  to  be  put 
to  the  witness,  relative  to  his  arrest,  and  the  charges  preferred 
against  him,  which  were  not  answered,  and  which  the  Court 
diid  not  insist  on  being  answered. 

Q.  Was  the  complaint  contained  in  the  charges  made  against 
Captain  Burns,  by  Major  Peters,  addressed  to  you  or  to  the 
Commander-in-Chief?  

This  question  was  also  objected  to,  by  the  Court.  _7 

Q.  Did  the  Commander-in-Chief  order  you  to  appoint  Cap- 
tain Burns  to  the  command  of  a  company,  afler  he  was  displa- 
ced as  Adjutant? 

A.  He  did  not. 


.1  J,, J 


■i*t^ 


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'» 


!  V' 


Major  Peters  snxorn  and  examined  by  the  Judge  Advocate,   I' 

Q,  What  is  your  rank  ?  ?• 

A.  Major  of  the  1st  Battalion  Saint  John  City  Militia. 

[Here  the  charges  against  Captain  Burns  were  again  read.] 

Q.  How  long  have  you  been  Major  Commanding  that  Bat- 
talion? .  »         V   ••    /    .        ' 

A.  Since  the  25th  October,  1821.  >  .     , 

Q.  Do  you  know  Captain  Lewis  Bums  ? 

A.  I  do.  J 

Q.  What  Battalion  did  he  belong  to? 
•   A.  He  belonged  to  the  same  Battalion  as  I  belong  to.r         , 

Q.  Does  he  still  belong  to  that  Battalion  ? 

A.  He  does. 

Q.  What  rank  did  he  hold  in  that  Battalion  ? 

A.  The  rank  of  Captam  and  Adjutant,  since  the  15th  of 
May,  1824. 

Q.  Ha  I  he  held  that  rank  ever  since  ? 

A.  As  Captain,  but  not  as  Adjutant,  having  been  displaced. 

Q.  Did  you,  on  the  1st  September  last,  issue  a  Regimental 
Order  to  C;aptain  Burns,  to  take  command  of  any  company  ? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  At  what  time  did  you  issue  any  order,  and  at  what  place? 

A.  On  the  1 1th  July. 

Q.  Was  Captftia  Biirns  included  m  that  order  ?        •  > 

A.  He  was.  .  :      •    . 


com- 

nside- 

>e  put 
ferred 
Court 

gainst 
to  the 


Cap- 
ispla- 


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Bat- 


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th  of 

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ental 

ny  ? 

ace? 

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,,  ^-  '■  .' 

1    • 

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.      ■  ,^  ■   -/•^i^''\''  '.:>■'')■.:. r^/'     ' 

Q.  To  what  Company  was  Captain  Burns  attached*? 

A.  He  was  attached  to  No.  1  Company. 

Q.  What  rank  in  the  Militia  did  he  then  hold  ? 
'  A.  The  rank  of  Captain. 

Q.  Was  Captain  Burns  furnished  (and  at  what  thne)  with  the 
Muster  Roll  of  No.  1  Company,  to  which  you  say  he  was  attached? 

A.  I  directed  Lieutenant  Roberts,  a  subaltern  officer  of  that 
Company,  to  deliver  the  Muster  Roll  to  Captain  Bums. — A 
few  days  after  that,  I  received  a  communication  from  Lieutenant 
Roberts,  informing  me,  that  he  had  forwarded  the  Muster  Roll 
to  Captain  Burns,  and  that  it  had  been  returned  to  him  under 
a  blank  cover.  I  then  directed  Lieutenant  R.  to  make  an  offi- 
cial report,  and  to  return  to  me  the  Muster  Roll — ^which  he  did. 
On  the  25th  August,  I  issued  an  order  for  Captains  and  Offi- 
cers commanding,  to  assemble  their  respective  Companies  on 
Wednesday  ihjs  12th  and  Friday  the  14th  proximo,  for  Martial 
Exercise,  and  on  Monday  the  ITth  of  the  same  month,  for  In- 
spection : — requiring,  at .  the  same  time,  commanding  officers 
of  Con^panles  to  give  due  notice  thereof.  On  the  31st  of  Au- 
.  gust,  I  enclosed  the  Muster  Roll  of  No.  1  Company  to  Captain 
and  Adjutant  Robinson,  directing  him  to  furnish  Captain  Burns 
with  i^  as  he  had  been  attached  to  that  company  since  July  last. 
I  received  a  return  answer  from  Captain  and  Adjutant  Kobin- 
,  son,  that  he  had  attended  to  that  duty,  and  Captain  Bdrns  re- 
fused to  receive  the  Muster  Roll,  unless  sent  to  him  officially. 
Receiving  this  information  from  Captain  and  Adjutant  Robin- 
son, I  immediately  made  a  report  to  Lieutenant- Colonel  Drury, 
dated  1st  of  September,  182T — a  copy  of  which  I  now  have 
and  will  read. 

[The  substance  of  this  repbrt  was,  that  Captain  Bums  had 
refused  to  do  the  duty  of  Captain  of  No.  1  Battalion  Company, 
and  that  he  had  consequently  appointed  Lieutenant  Roberts  to 
the  command  of  the  same.]  '  ■;    * 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  Colonel  Drury  received  the  re- 
port of  which  you  have  now  read  a  copy  ? 

A.  A  short  time  afterwards  I  received  a  letter  from  Colonel 
Drury,  directing  me  to  give  the  command  of  the  company  to 
another  officer. 

Q.  Did  tJaptain  Burns  take  charge  of*  the  company,  as  re- 
quired of  him?  _ 

A.  He  did  not.        ■''  ',-.'    "' '".       [    -  "        ''.'V 

■■  '  ■     ■'*"'.  - "'  ■'*    ' 

'  Cross-examined  bi/ Captain  Burns.         '-  -' 

Q.  When  were  you  appointed  to  take  cQmmand  of  the  1st 


■f\  ■:;ti-/    ,  • 


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J* 


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1^ 


Battalioti  ofSaint  John  City  Militia,  and  did  you  receive  your 
appointment  by  a  General,  or  Regimental  Order  ?   ' 

The  Adjutant-General  objected  to  this  question,  as  he  said 
it  had  been  answered  previously.  ^v    jf. 

Captain  Burps,  however,  insisted  on  its  being  put,  and  the 
Adjutant-Geheral's  objection  was  over-ruled  by  the  Court. 

A.  I  considered  myself  as  taking  command  of  the  Battalion 
when  I  was  Gazetted  as  Major. 

Q.  At  what  time  was  Captain  Burns  displaced  as  Adjutant? 

A.  On  the  10th  November,  1826,  I  forwarded  a  copy  of  an 
order  to  Captain  Burns,  dated  2Cth  October,  1826,  and  csrti- 
fied  by  me  as  being  a  true  copy  of  the  original. 

Here  the  Judge  Advocate  read  the  same  clause  of  this  order 
as  had  been  read  by  Adjutant-General  Shore,  on  his  evidence— 
the  substance  of  which  was,  that  His  Excellency  had  no  furthe:.- 
occasion  for  his  (Capt.  B's)  services  in  the  situation  of  Adjutant. 

'     Q.  Was  that  a  General  Order,  or  a  private  letter  ?  '  f^' 

A.  It  was  an  official  communication  from  the  Adjutant-Ge- 
neral's Office,  dated  Fredericton^  the  26th  of  October,  1826? 

Q.  Did  you,  after  receiving  that  cominur 'cation,  consider 
Captain  Burns  as  being  an  officer  m  the  Militia  ?  -c 

A.  I  did : — or  1  should  not  afterwards  have  attached  him  to 
B  company. 

Q.  Did  you,  on  the  first  occurrence  of  a  vacant  Captaincy 
tliereafter  in  the  Battiilion,  appoint  Captain  Bums  to  the  com- 
mand of  a  company  ? 

A.  The  first  order  I  issued  after  that,  for  placing  officers  to 
their  respective  companies,  and  considering  Captain  Buriis  as  a 
Senior  Cuptain,  I  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  1st  Battalion 
Company. 

Q.  Did  you,  on  any  occasion,  stiite  to  an  officer  or  officers  of 
the  City  Militia,  that  Captain  Bnvns  was  no  longer  an  officer,  and 
that  he  could  not  be  considered  as  such  upon  public  occasions  ? 

A.  I  did  not. 

Q.  Had  you  auy  conversion  widi  Colonel  Drury,  re'">pecting 
the  appointment  of  Captain  Burns  to  No.  I  Company,  previous 
to  an  order  havinfr  been  issued  to  that  dibct  ? 

A.  I  cannot  call  to  mind  any  particular  conversation.  I  might 
have  had  some  concerning  the  subject,  but  do  not  recollect 
when  it  was. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  Captain  Burns  were  put  under  an 
arrest  in  the  month  of  October,  1836  ? 

A.  I  did  not  consider  him  under  an  arrcnt,  but  understood 
that  a  conununica^n  was  uddre:}sed  tu  him  calling  hiia  bcfare  a 


'  i 


/ 


.Ip; 


'.■■■'•■  <^^^ 


Court  of  Enquiry. — I  do  not  know  il'it  was  a  Court  of  Enquiry, 
but  all  the  Field  Officers  of  tlie  City  and  County  Militia  as* 
sembled  on  the  occasion,  and  Captain,  ^rns  was  called  to  an- 
swer to  &  complaint  preferred  againsr^^iim  by  the  Inspecting 
Field  Officer. 

Q.  Was  the  complaint  to  which  Captain  Burns  was  brought 
forward  to  answer  at  the  Court  you  now  refer  to,  made  by  your- 
self individually,  or  in  conjunction  with  tlie  Inspecting  Field 
Officer? 

A.  It  was  not  made  by  myself: — nor  did  I  know  any  tiling 
of  it,  until  I  attended  at  Colonel  Drury's  House,  w]ien  Captain 
Burns  denied  the  charges  which  it  contained,  and  requested  a 
General  Court  Martial.  .  , 

Here  Captain  Bums  stated  that  he  had  received  from  Major 
Peters,  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  Adjutant-General  Shore  to  him, 
displacing  Captain  Burns  from  the  situation  of  Adjutant,  the 
original  of  which  Captain  B.  requested  to  be  read.— The  Court 
ordered  it  should  be  read,  and  the  Judge  Advocate  read  it  ac- 
cordingly.     It  is  as  follow : 

Adjutant  General's  Office,  > 
;        •       "  FrederUton,  tSih  October,  1^26.  $ 

Sir, — I  am  directed  hy  the  CominBnJ(»r-in- Chief  to  desire  that  yoii  will  be  pleased 
to  communicate  to  Captain  and  Adjutant  Burns,  of  the  Battalion  of  Militia  under  your 
ccmmand,  that  Kis  Excellency  has  no  further  occasion  for  bit  services  in  the  situation 
of  Adjutant. 

His  Excellency  has  found  himself  und^r  the  necessity  of  coming  to  this  decision  upon 
leports  from  the  Inspecting  Field  Officer  and  yourself,  by  which  it  appears  that  -Cap- 
tain and  Adjutant  Burns  had  not  performed  his  duty  in  the  manner  which  it  was  parti- 
cularly  incumbent  on  him,  and  appertaining  to  tlu;  proper  office  of  Adjutant"  to  do,  but 
had  made  use  of  language  calculated  to  show  resistanca  arid  disobedience  to  the  orders, 
and  to  dispute  the  authority  of  Liciitcnarit-Colonel  Love,  to  instruct  and  eommaud,  as 
well  as  to  inspect  the  Militia  at  their  general  mnctings  us  directed  so  to  do  by  His  Ex- 
cellency's orders  and  instructions,  drawn  in  strict  conformity  with  the  Act  for  the  Or- 
ganization and  Regulation  of  tlie  Militia  Forces. 

1  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  Servant, 

(Si-ned)  GiUORGBUnORE,  Adjutant- a eneralM.F. 

Major  B.  L.  PETERS,  Commanding  > 

lit  Batt.  St.  John  City  Militia.     J      .  '         ' 

-      •■'•    •  ■>"  ■■•-■    ■   '-'f  ■ 

I  certify  the  within  to  be  a  true  copy  taken  from  the  orioinal  to  mo  directed- 

(Signed)  IJKNJAMIN  L.  PETERS, 

MaJK>r  Commanding  Isi  Battalion  City  Militi*.  ' 

Captain  Burns  then  requested  that  this  document  should  ap- 
pear on  the  Minutes  of  the  Court, — to  this  the  Judge  Advocate 
objected ;  stating  explicitly  at  the  same  time,  that  he  would 
not  insert  it  in  the  Minutes  of  the  Com-t,  which  should  be  laid 
before  the  Commander-in-Chief~nnd  that,  in  fact,  the  Notes 
or  Minutes  wiiieh  he  was  then  taking  were  not  those  which 
xvould  be  shown  to  llh  Excelkncy,  but  that  "  A  Copy  of  them 
would  be  made  out  by  him  for  that  purpose  hereafter." 


-J^ 


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Q.  Do  you  know  whether  the  General  Court  Martial  which 
Captain  Burns  then  requested  was  ever  gran  ted  him'r 

A.  I  know  it  was  nr^^^ 

Q.  Did  ever  any  coriOfpondence  take  pla6e  between  you  and 
the  Adjutant-General,  or  between  you  and  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  regarding  the  subject  matter  of  the  complaint  tb^n  laid 
before  the  Field  Officers  at  Colonel  Djury's  house  ? 

A.  The  impression  on  my  mind  is,  that  no  correspondence 
took  place  except  the  official  communication  which  I  now  hold 
in  my  hand,  addressed  to  me  by  the  Adjutant-General,  dated  the 
26th  of  October,  1826,  directing  me  to  communicate  f:  Captain 
and  Adjutant  Burns  of  the  Battalion  of  Militia  under  my  com- 
mand, that  His  Excellency  had  no  further  occasion  for  his 
services  in  the  situation  of  Adjutant.— -The  complaint  was  made 
by  Colonel  Love  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  and  the  commu- 
nication to  which  I  now  allude,  is  the  only  one  I  ever  received 
on  the  subject. 

Here  Captain  Burns  addressed  the  Court,  and  begged  to 
bring  under  their  notice,  the  inconsistency  which  evidently  ap- 
peared to  exist  between  the  evidence  which  Major  Peters  had 
given,  and  the  tenor  of  the  communication  which  he  (Major  P.) 
ad  received  from  the  Adjutant-General,  and  which  had  just 
been  read  by  the  Judge' Advocate.  The  former  goes  to  shew  that 
Major  P.  knew  nothing  of  the  complaint  against  Captain  B.  pre- 
vious to  the  meeting  of  Field  Officers  at  Colonel  Drury's  house» 
while  the  latter  manifestly  proves  that  the  complaint  against 
Captain  B.  to  the  Commander-in-Chief, was  made  both  by  him- 
self and  Colonel  Love. — He,  therefore,  openly  charged  Major 
Peters  with  prevarication. 

The  Court  was  afterwards  addressed  by  Adjutant-General 
Shore.  He  stated  that  it  was  highly  improper  lor  the  prisoner 
Captain  Burns  to  charge  an  Officer  of  such  high  standing  as 
Major  Peters  was  with  prevarication,  and  that  he  did  consider 
it  his  duty  to  request  of  the  Court,  that  the  prisoner  should  not  in 
futu-e  take  such  liberties  with  an  officer  of  Major  Peters*  rank. 

Captain  Burns  then  addressed  the  Court,  requesting  that  Co- 
lonel Shore  should  be  called  to  order,  when  the  President  told 
Colonel  Shore  that  the  Court  were  to  judge  in  this  case,  and 
would  not  be  directed  by  him. 

Here  considerable  confusion  too!;  place  in  the  Court,  arising 
from  the  adilrcsses  of  the  defendant  and  prosecutor. 

The  Judge  Advocate  then  expressed  a  wish  to  be  allowed  to 
m-EXAMiNE  the  last  witness  (Major  P.)  ^     , 

Q.'  Mijor  Peters, — you  stated  in  your  cross -examination  by 


./ '.. . . 


:,;'  ■  .  ■  -■  -■  ,  ]  •.     15  ^'{,-   ', .   ,  -•  , 

Captain  Burns  the  prisoner,  t)iat  you  did  not  consider  Iiitn  as 
under  an  arrest  relative  to  the  Court  at  Colonel  Drury's — I 
want  to  know  if  you  wish  to  give  any  farther  information  on  that 
subject? 

A.  I  do. — I  have  before  stated  that  at  the  time  Captain  and 
Adjutant  Burns  attended  ^t  Colonel  Drury's,  it  did  appear  that 
it  was  tb  answer  to  charges  made  by  Colonel  Love,  of  the  na- 
ture of  which  charges  1  had  no  knowledge,  until  I  saw  them 
there. — Some  time  after  that  period,  in  consequence  of  a  com- 
munication having  been  received  by  me  from  His  Excellency, 
respecting  the  charges  against  Captain  Burns,  I  directed  a  let- 
letter  to  His  Excellency  in  reply. 

Several  of  the  Members  <of  the  Court  then  put  the  following 
question — 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  complaint  to  Colonel  Love  respecting 
the  conduct  of  Adjutant  Burns  at  the  drill  or  inspeciion  of  the 
1st  Battalion  of  City  Militia  in  the  year  1826,  or  soon  after  the 
time  of  the  said  drill  or  inspection  ? 

A.  I  did  not. — Certainly  no  written  communication,  nor  can 
I  recollect  of  any  verbal  one. 

-',..-:•■•        Qiiestion  by  the  Judge  Advocate  :         ^.     ,      ^^'t 

Q.  Have  you  had  the  command  of  the  1st  Battalion  since 
the  year  1824?    .  « 

A.  I  have. 

Major  Peters  was  then  directed  by  the  Judge  Advocate  to 
withdraw. 


'  ■  •  \ 


!''i- 


4 


i 


V 


Cdptain  and  Adjutant  George  D.  Robinson  was  then  duly  sworn 

as  a  Witness. 

[Here  the  charges  against  Captain  Burns  were  again  read  by 
the  Judge  Advocate.] 

...       .^     •      Examined  by  the  Court  >  .      ' 

Q.  Do  you  belong  to  the  1st  Battalion  City  Militia  ? 

A.  I  do,  '  •/  .    - 

Q.  "What  is  your  rank ?     '  ■  '^•'    ^  *" 

A.  Captain  and  Adjutant.  < 

Q.  How  long  have  you  held  that  situation  ?        . 

A.  About  three  years,  but  haveheld  the  Adjutancy  only  since 
April  last. 

Q.  Did  you  at  any  time,  and  when  acting  as  Adjutant,  com- 
municate .to  Captain  Burns  of  your  Battalion  his  appointment 
to  a  company? 


*1 
I 


'/: 


Bl 


16 


r 


x 

n 


,'» 


A.  On  the  11th  July  last,  I  received  an  order  from  Major 
Peters,  arranging  different  officers  to  tlieir  respective  compa^ 
nies.— In  that  order  Captain  Buri^  was  attached  to  No.  l  Bat>* 
talion  Company.  On  the  iHst  of  August  I  received  an  order 
from  Major  Peters  to  furnish  Captain  Burns  with  a  Muster 
Roll  of  No.  I  company.  -^ 

Q.  Did  you  in  ptirsuance  ofniat  order  present  that  Muster 
Roll  to  Captain  Burns  ? 

A.  1  did. — Upon  Captain  Bums  looking  at  it  he  told  me  Mar 
jor  Peters  must  send  it  oflitially. — In  consequence  of  this  an- 
,  swer,  I  wrote  to  Major  Peters  and  hiformed  him  thereof. 

[Here  the  Judge  Advocate  handed  Adjutant  Robirtson  a  pa- 
per, and  put  the  following  questions.] 

Q.  Is  that  the  report  you  made  to  Major  Peters  on  the  occa- 
sion ? 

A.  That  is  my  writin.'x.     .     '  *      .  *  *.  '*.^ 

Q.  Does  that  report  contain  a  corx'cct  statement  of  the  trans- 
action ?  . .  I  . 

A.  It  does. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  Captain  Burns  took  command  of 
that  or  any  other  compnny  subsequent  to  that  order  ? 

A.  He  did  not  to  my  i.riowleclge. 

Q.  If  he  had  done  so,  would  not  you,  as  AJjutanl,  hava 
known  it  ? 

A.  I  certainly  should, but  C;iptain  Burns  might  have  put  up 
a  notice  without  my  knowleil^as 

Q.  Did  you  receive  an  ore!  r  from  Major  Peters  ordering  the 
companies  out  for  drill  and  liKspettion  r* 

A.  I  did. 

Q.  Did  Captain  Burns  in  obedicnco  to  that  order  call  out 
and  assemble  his  company  for  drill,  and  in  other' respects  com- 
ply with  the  terms  of  that  order  ?  "«  '  T 

A.  Certainly  he  did  not  appear  on  die  ground  to  take  com- 
mand of  that  company  on  either  of  the  days  ortlered. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  his  doing  any  act  as  captain  of  a  compa- 
ny in  obedience  tp  that  order  ?  .  *•'    '  , »; .         •  •'»•  -  w',* 

A.  I  do  not. 

Q.  Did  you  receive  a  letter  from  Major  Peters  directing  you 
to  order  I^icutenant  Roberts  to  take  command  of  Captain 
Burns' company  ?  '  v.  jl. 

A.  I  did. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  other  matters  relative  to  the  char- 
ges now  exhibited  against  tlie  prisoner,  besides  those  which 
have  already  been  adverted  to  ?  .-   »  ^ 

A.  I  do  not  recollect  of  any. 


cliar- 
Avhich 


17 

'  Cross-examintd  by  Captain  Bums. 

Q.  Did  you  not  present  the  Muster  Roil  (alluded  to)  on  the  Ist 
of  September  to  Captain  Burns,  in  the  Public  Market  Square  ? 

A.  I  did,-^I  had  been  at  "Captain  Burn's  Stor**  ^^revibusly, 
but  he  was  not  in. 

Q.  On  your  presenting  the  Muster  Roll  to  Captain  Burns, 
did  he  not  request  you  to  present  his  compliments  to  Major 
Peters,  and  to  say  to  him  that  he  (Captain  B.)  would  not  receive 
any  paper  on  Militia  business  unless  it  were  officially  addressed 
to  him  by  the  commanding  Officer  ? 

A.  He  might  have  done  so.     I  do  no  recollect. 

Q.  Did  Captain  Burns  manifest  a  spirit  of  contempt  towards 
you,  or  did  j^ou  at  any  time  observe  him  to  do  so  towards  Ma- 
jor Peters?  s         ^  .      ^ 

A.  I  did  not.        •  ■       '  '  '  .  |^:       •    ' 

Re'Cxaminedhij  the  Judge  Advocate.       ■     >     •'  • 

Q.  Is  not  the  Adjutant  of  the  Battalion  the  proper  channel 
through  which  orders  are  conveyed  to  officers  ?  '" 

A.  I  have  always  understood  him  to  be  so. 

Q.  When  you  presented  the  Muster  Roll  to  Captain  Bums, 
did  you  not  do  so  in  the  capacity  of  Adjutant  ? 

A.  I  did.  ■  *;^      " 

Q.  Were  the  orders  appointing  Captain  Burns  to  the  coni- 
mandj^*  a  company  sent  to  him  through  the  same  channel  '  as 
the  M^ter  Roll  was  sent  ? 

A.  They  certainly  were  not. — The  order  appointing  Captain 
Burns  to  a  company  appeared  in  a  Newspaper. — The  Mustef 
Roll  I  handed  to  him  myself. 

Q.  W^as  the  order  appointing  Captain  Bums  to  a  company 
prior  to  the  date  of  his  being  handed  the  Muster  Roll  ? 

A.  It  was. — The  order  appeared  on  the  30th  of  August,  but 
I  suppose  that  the  Printer  had  altered  the  date  of  it,  to  suit 
that  of  his  paper. — The  order  was  dated  1 1th  July,  and  piri>» 
lished  in  the  City  Gazette  on  the  former  day.      ^     /      .4 

Here  Captain  Burns  presented  to  the  Court,  a  copy  of  the 
New-Brunswick  Courier,  dated  14fth  July,  containing  a  copy 
of  the  order  referred  to  by  Adjutant  Robinson  as  having  been 
published  in  the  City  Gazette  of  the  SOth  of  August.— -If  was 
headed  "Miutia  Orders"  and  signed  "6^  Command,  George 
D.  Robinson,  Adjutant."  * 

MILITIA  ORDERS.  '^* 

The  Officers  belonging  to  the  First  Battalioa  City  Militia,  are  aUached  for  duty  to 
th«  fgllowigg  Companies  : 

Captain  Tliomas  Barlow,  1  ■  -^        [  «'"'•;•■<" 

*      LiQutcnant  Thomas  T.  Hanford,  >  Artillery  Company ■ 

„         George  Walerberry, )  i  ' 


':J 


•*#. 


:7 


\  ^ 


K 


18 


r      >    -^ 


:^j 


-'S 


Captain  William  Seeullar,  > 

Lisutanant  Charles  Drury,  >  Gronadiar  Compasj. 

„         Alexander  M'Grotty, ) 


Captain  Lewis  Burns, 
Lieutenant  John  J.  Roberts, 
„         William  Hutchinson 

Captain  E.  Bariow,  jun 
Lieutenant  M.  Hcnnigar. 
„         David  J.  Merr 

Captain  Daniel  Jordan, 
Lieutenant  E.  J.  Jarvis 
„         W.  y.  Thcall 

Captain  James  Kirk,       ' 
Lieutenant  N.  Disbrow, 
„         E.  J.  Budd,  : 

Captain  John  Smyth, 
Lieutenant  William  Morritt, 
„  Henry  Gault, 

,i         Daniel  Smith, 


i' 


No.  1,  Battalion  Company. 


rritt,  > 

11.  > 


No.  2,  Battalion  Company. 


*»  V . 


No.  3,  Battalion  Company. 


No.  4,  Battalion  Company. 


No.  5,  Battalion  Company. 


•/':.:M 


■f* 


Lieutenant  T.  L.  Nicholson,  >No.  6,  Battblion  Company.^ 
rio,  > 


Captain  John  Kinnear, 
,  T.  L.  Nichi 
H.  N.  H.  Lugrijj 

Captain  Thomas  Nisbet,       J  t  «ft  wi.nu  r^„„,mmm  ■•''■^' ' 

Lieutenant  John  Robertson,  5  ^«'^^''"''*^°'"'""'-  -  '. 

'  CaptainR.  W.  Crookshank.jr.)  "  ■  ^  .-  '-  > '■'■^V/      '^     •     ' 

^  Lieutenant  Thomas  M'MacIun,  j  „•-    «^„„,,        '  '  ■■-■  ^'     „, 

William  O.  Smith,    ^ «•««  Company.  > -^^  ".=  .-.:  . 

„  Stephen  Jamos,         J  .,;'-''    i    ,/ 

Royal  African  Staflf  as  before  ordered. 

Agreeably  to  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly,  passed  on  the  I9th  day  of  March, 
1827,  for  regulating  Uie  Militia,  as  far  as  it  respects  the  City  of  Saint  John,  Captaini 
and  Officers  Commanding  Companies  in  the  First  Bat'alion  City  Militia,  are  hereby 
required  forthwith  to  furnish  Captain  James  O.  Bctts,the  Regimental  Enrolling  Officer, 
with  correct  lists  of  the  persons  belonging  to  their  respective  Companies  at  the  time  of 
the  last  General  Inspection,  including  ail  persons  at  that  time  belonging  to  their  Com- 
panies and  absent  from  duty. 

In  all  cases  when  the  number  exceed  the  complement  allowed  for  any  one  company, 
the  Captain  or  Officer  commanding  such  company  will  select  thu  complement  to  com* 
podo  their  companies,  and  the  remainder  shall  be  considered  as  unattached  but  still  be- 
longing to  the  First  Battalion,  and  placed  on  thcRegimontal  Enrolling  Officer's  liit,  or 
attached  to  some  other  company  in  the  First  Battalion  for  duty  as  the  Law  directs. 

Captains  or  Officers  commanding  companies  that  are  deficient  in  the  proper  comple- 
ment of  men,  may  complete  their  companies  from  the  Regimental  Enrolling  Officer's  list 
of  persons  unattached  to  any  particular  company  of  the  Battalion,  and  any  persons  un- 
attached, may,  with  tho  consent  of  the  Captain  or  other  Officer,  enrol  themselves  in  any 
company  so  deficient  in  number,  until  the  same  is  completed. 

By  Command, 
.       '.       GEORGE  D.  ROBINSON,  i4(//«/an^ 

(        taint  John,  N.  B.  14th  July,  1827.  •  ,     ■  ■.-,  ^  :^j  : 

Captain  B.  then  addressed  the  Court  at  considerable  length, 
remarking  on  the  irregularity  and  impropriety  of  a  Junior  OflS- 
cer  to  appoint  him  to  the  command  of  a  company,  As  an  ap- 
pointment of  this  kind  could  only,  according  to  Military  regula- 
tions, proceed  from  the  Commander-in-chief. 

The  Court  then  ordered  Captain  Robinson  to  witbdrftw. 


•.   ( 


:,»,..... 


19 

Here  the  case  for  the  prosecution  was  closed,  and  Captain 
Burns  was  called  upon  by  the  Court  to  open  his  defence. 

Captain  B.  then  stated  that  he  trusted  the  Court  by  this  time 
were  well  aware  of  the  lameness  of  the  evidence  which  had  been 
adduced  to*  substantiate  the  charges,  in  this  case  preferred 
against  him  by  Major  Peters ;  and  that,  in  fact,  no  such  char- 
ges should  have  come  before  them.  He  said  he  was  far 
from  being  desirous  of  protracting  the  business  of  the  Court,  or 
of  detaining  its  members  in  town  by  entering  upon  a  lengthy 
defence,  and  indeed,  from  the  nature  of  the  charges  themselves, 
he  did  not  see  any  necessity  for  his  doing  so. — He  hoped,  how- 
ever, as  he  had  to  conduct  his  own  cause  himself,  without  the 
assistance  of  Legal  or  other  advice,  that  the  Court  would  in- 
dulge him  with  a  day  or  two  to  prepare  his  defence. 

The  Court  was  then  cleared.  On  re-opening  the  door,  the 
Court  informed  Captain  Burns  that  he  should*  te  allowed  until 
12  or  1  o'clock  on  Monday  (this  was  Saturday,)  for  the  purpose 
of  providing  the  evidence  which  he  intended  to  bring  forward 
in  liis  vindication,    -r       ;    v^r      v    .,;     ,      ^^j 

Here  the  Court  was  interrupted  by  Adjutant-General  Shore, 
whose  feelings  were  evidently  raisea  to  a  high  pitch  of  irrita- 
tion. He  said  he  considered  it  as  his  duty  as  prosecutor  ex 
officio^  to  object  to  the  granting  of  any  indulgence  in  point  of 
time  to  Captain  Burns,  as  Captain  B.  had  already  unnecessari-  ; 
ly  and  improperly  occupied  the  time  of  the  Court  and  delayed 
its  proceedings. 

This  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  Adjutant-General  induced 
Captain  B.  again  to  address  the  Court.  He  expressed  his 
astonishment  that  the  respectable  body  of  officers  of  which  it 
was  composed,  would  allow  tiiemselves  to  be  dictated  to,  by  the 
prosecutor,  after  they  had  olready  made  up  their  minds  to  grant 
him  one  day's  indulgence ;  he  therefore  requested  that  Colonel 
Shore  would  be  called  to  order.       -  ,'  '      ,    .  ,;   .. 

The  President  then  told  the  Adjutant-General,  that  the  Court, 
not  he,  must  be  the  judgeis  of  tlieir  own  proceedings. 

The  Judge  Advocate  then,  with  a  considerable  degree  of 
warmth,  said,  that  he  did  not  conceive  that  Captain  Burns  was 
on  any  account  entitled  to  any  forbearance  on  the  part  of  the 
Court,  ,and  wished  Captain  B.  to  be  directed  by  the  Court  to 
proceed  upon  his  defence  immediately. 

Captain  Burns  in  reply  said,  that  he  conceived  it  highly  im- 
proper for  the  Judge  Advocate  to  attempt  to  direct  the  Court, 
or  even  to  give  his  opinion  upon  the  case  at  ^11  at  that  stage  of 


-  /' 


fl 


( 


-It 


< 


^ 


tlM  buiineM,  as  he  (thte  Judge  Advocate)  could  be  coniidcred 
■s  acting  in  no  other  capacity  than  tliat  of  Servant  of,  or  Ro« 
corder  to,  the  Court. 

The  Court  was  again  cleared  and  a  considerable  space  of 
time  was  taken  up  in  deliberating  with  closed  doors.  On  re- 
opening, the  Judge  Advocate  directed  Captain  Burns  to  attend 
the  Court  on  Monday  at  10  o'clock,  in  order  to  enter  on  hli 
defence.  .,  -  ,       . 

The  Court  tlien  adjourned.  ...V    '  U 

On  Monday  at  10  o'clock,  pursuant  to  adjournment,  th* 
Court  again  met,  and  Captain  Burns  was  called  upon  to  pro- 
duce his  witnesses  for  examination. 

I^ieutenant'Coloncl  Drtiry  xvas  then  sworn  bt/  the  Cowt,  and  ex- 
,  amined  by  Captain  Btirhs. 

■  Q.  Did  you  call  upon  Captain  and  Adjutant  Burns  on  or 
about  the  9th  October,  1826,  and  state  to  liim  that  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, in  consequence  of  a  complaint  having  beea 
made  to  him  by  the  Inspecting  Field  Officer,  Lieutenant-Color 
nel  Love,  against  him  the  said  Captain  and  Adjutant  Burns, 
had  ordered  the  Field  Officers  of  the  City  and  County  Mihtia 
.  to  assemble  at  Colonel  Urury's  house  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
v^tigating  the  said  complaint. — And  did  you,  when  you  then 
called,  direct  Captain  and  Adjutant  Burns  to  consider  himself 
under  an  arrest  ? 

A.  1  recollect  having  received  instructions  from  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, directing  mc  to  assemble  the  chief  Officers  of 
the  Ciiy  and  County  Militia,  in  order  to  take  into  consideration 
a  certain  complaint  made  to  His  Excellency  respecting  the  con- 
duct of  Captain  and  Adjutant  Burns,  by  Colonel  Love.  Hav- 
ing notified  those  officers  to  meet  at  my  house,  I  called  on 
"Captain  Burns  and  directed  him  also  to  appear  at  the  meeting.— 
I  am  not  quite  certain,  but  I  think  it  is  probable  I  did  say  to 
Captain  Burns,  that  he  must  consider  himself  under  an  arrest 
from  that  date.  When  the  Officers  met,  a  copy  of  the  com- 
plaint was  read  to  Ctvptain  Burns.  Captain  Burns  then  asked 
whether  he  was  to  consider  the  present  meeting  a  Court  Mar- 
tial or  ii  Court  of  ICnnuiry — I  told  him  I  did  not  consider  it  ei- 
ther the  one  or  th«  other. 

He  was  then  asl  ced  whether  he  pleaded  Guilty  or  not  Guilty 
to  the  charges  the  rein  contained.  He  replied  that  he  would 
frtead  Not  Guilty- -that  he  did  not  consider  his  conduct  in  re- 
ference t»  the  circumstances  upon  which  the  complaint  wa« 
founded  as  in  the  (slightest  degree  impeachable,  and  requested 


*'t   ■■ 


SI 


that  an  application  should  be  made  to  the  Commandef-ic- 
Chittf,  to  allow  him  a  Trial  by  a  General  Court  Martial.  1 
forwarded  this  request  to  His  Excellency  accordingly. 

Captain  Burns  was  then  directed  to  withdraw. 

Q.  Did  tlie  Commander-in-Chief  ever  grant  that  Cour| 
Mardal? 

A.  No. 

Q.  Do  you  recollect  upon  Captain  and  Adjutant  Burns  hav* 
ing  called  upon  you  on  or  about  the  I3th  November,  182G, 
reporting  to  you  the  communication  sent  to  him  by  Major 
Peters.  And  do  you  recollect  Captain  Burns  requesting  your 
opinion  as  to  whether  the  Governor  had  power  to  displace  him 
from  the  Adjutancy  of  the  Battalion  without  the  sentence  of  a 
Court  Martial  ? 

A.  I  recollect  of  such  circumstances  havipg  taken  place,  out 
am  not  quite  certain  as  to  the  date.  I  told  him  that  in  my  opi- 
nion the  Commander-in-Chief  had  power  to  displace  any  officer 
without  the  sentence  of  a  Court  Martial  if  he  thought  proper  so 
to  do.  I  even  expressed  a  doubt  as  to  whether  Captain  Bums 
could  be  considered  an  Officer  in  the  Battalion  of  any  rank 
after  that  date. 

Q.  Did  Captain  Burns  ask  you  whether  you  considered  him 
an  Officer  of  your  Battalion,  and  did  you  not  answer  that  as  h« 
had  been  displaced  as  Adjutant  he  could  no  longer  be  consi* 
dered  as  being  attached  to  the  Battalion  ? 

A.  I  do  not  recollect  precisely,  but  it  is  very  probable  I  did 
tell  him  that  he  could  not  be  an  Officer  of  the  Battalion  if  he 
teas  displaced  as  Adjutant;  he  ^having  held  the  situation  of 
Adjutant  with  the  rank  of  Captain.  ;• '   ^      .'-••'     > 

■    ,   '.    '  .1',  V.    ..        »   ■-'        •     •*,  '     f,-f     u  ^ 

Examined  hf  th^  Court.  *  '''- 

Q.  Did  you  release  Captain  Burns  from  that  arrest,  undef 
which  he  was  put  to  answer  to  the  complaint  which  was  prefer- 
ed  against  him  at  the  meeting  of  Officers  which  took  place  at 
your  house  ?  '  ,  .  ,.  u. 

A.  I  did  not.  '    ^         '      '  :^     ^        '  ■ 

Q.  Did  you  ever  issue  an  order  publickly  for  Major  Peter* 
to  take  command  of  the  Battalion  ?  .   ;        , 

A.  No.  It  is  not  usual  in  the  service,  the  fiext  senior  officeii;- 
takes  the  command. 

Cross^eo^amined  by  the  Prosecutor. 

Q.  Did  you  issue  a  Regimental  Order  for  the  arrett  of 
Captain  Lewis  Bm*ns? 

A.   No.  }-  ^y^''\!  ./>  ■:  '^;>  .K- 4  ^'fl,  ;;;«(*' 


il, 


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Q.  Is  it  not  customary  when  an  Officer  is  to  be  placed  under  an 

arrest  for  the  Commanding  Officer  to  issue  an  order  to  that  effedt? 

A.  No.     But  I  beg  leave  by  way  of  explanation  to  answer 

•  this  question  more  fully.  The  meeting  of  Field  Officers  at  my 
house  appeared  to  me  to  be  one  of  rather  a  novel  nature.  I 
recollect  that  at  the  close  of  it,  Captain  Burns  asked  me  whe- 
ther he  should  consider  himself  still  under  an  arrest     I  told 

•  ''  him  he  should  until  further  orders.  I  recollect  also  that  Cap- 
tain Burns  called  upon  me  at  the  time  he  observed  in  the 
Newspapers  a  "  Militia  Order"  dated  the  14th  July  last, 
which  contained  his  appointment  to  the  command  of  No.  1 
company,  and  the  opinion  I  expressed  to  him  on  that  occasion 
is  still  the  same,  viz : — That  he  could  not  be  appointed  to  the 

*•         command  of  a  company  without  a  General   Order  from  the 

V  *, .      Commander-in-Chief  to  that  effect. 

•  Lieutenanl  R.  B,  D.  King,  2d  Battalion  City  Militia,  sxvorn  by 

the  Cmrty  and  examitied  by.Cajitain  BUrns. 

Q.  Did  you  in  reference  to  any  particular  meeting  of  officers 
•         held  in  this  place  on  or  about  the  mouth  of  December,  1826, 
*'    call  upon  Captain  Burns? 

A.  1  did.     If  you  will  allow  me  gentlemen,   I  will  tell  you 
,     ,    all  about  it.     I  was  appointed  one  of  the  Managei's  cf  a  Ball  to 
♦.         be  given  by  the  Ofiicers  of  the  City  Militia  on  account  of  the 
'•^   2d  Battalion's  having  received  from  England  a  set  of  Colours. 
I  asked  Captain  Burns  if  he  would  become  a  subscriber  to  the 
Ball. — He  said  he  would. — Subsequently  1  had  an  interview 
with  Major  Peters,  in  the  course  of  which,  I  mentioned  to  him 
the  circumstance  of  my  having  requested  Captain    Burns  to 
subscribe  to  the  Ball  List,  when  Major  Peters  informed  me 
that  Captain  B.  was  no  longer  an  Officer — that  he  was  remov- 
ed from  llie  service. 

Cross-examined  by  the  Court. 

'  ^       Q.  Captain  Burns  belongs  to  the  1st  Battalion,  why  was  he 
,        requested  to  become  a  subscriber  to  a  Ball  which  appeared  to 
have  been  given  on  account  of  circumstances  in  which  the  Ot- 
.    ficcrs  of  the  2d  Battalion  were  solely  interested  ? 

A.  I  must  speak  the  truth,  gentlemen.     The  Officers  of  the 
2d  Battalion  are  poor,  and  knowing  that  the  Officers  of  the  1st 
.  ^         Battalion  were  gentlemen  could  afford . 

Here  the  witness  was  interrupted  in  givinf^  his  evidence  by 
Captain  and  Adjutant  Flaherty  of  the  2d  Battalion,  who  oli- 
jected  to  the  question  and  also  to  the  answer  which  he  was  giv- 
ing ;  and  requested  tliat  neither  the  question  nor  tlie  part  of  the 


u 


«.i  was  given  to  it,  should  be  allowed  to  appear  on 
th^  tace  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Court. 

Q.  Did  Cnptaiii  Burns  request  you  to  bring  him  the  Ball 
List  in  order  tliat  he  might  put  his  name  to  it? 

A.  I^Ie  did  not.  I  had  only  called  upon  him  for  the  purpoM 
of  ascertaining  whether  he  would  sign  it,  if  it  were  brought  to 
him;  and,  as  [stated  before,  he  said  he  would.  , 


1^. 


Lieutenant-Colonel  Love,  srjoorn  by  the. Court,  and  examined  by 

Captaiti  Burns.  ,.  , 

Q.  Were  you  Inspecting  Field  Officer  of  Militia  in  thii 
Province  in  the  year  1826?  ,.  ..         ^ 

A.  I  was. 

Q.  Did  Major  Peters  on  the  day  of  General  Inspection  of 
the  City  Militia  in  the  year  1826  make  any  complaint  to  you 
regarding  the  conduct  of  Captain  and  Adjutant  Bums? 

A.  Major  Peters  did  state  to  me  the  circumstance  of  Adju- 
tant Burns  having  dismissed  the  battalion  on  the  first  day  of 
Drill  at  an  earlier  hour  than  was  considered  necessary  under 
the  plea  that  the  weather  was  wet  and  unfit  for  Drilling.  Ma- 
jor P.  at  the  same  time  expressed  his  regret  that  the  battalion 
on  this  account  wr  3  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  my  instructions. 

Q.  'Did  Major  Peters  inform  you  that  Captain  Burns  had 
endeavoured  to  dissuade  the  junior  Officers  of  the  1st  battalion 
from  attending  the  Officers'  Annual  Dinner,  and  to  breed  a 
party  amongst  the  Officers  of  the  Regiment? 

A.  I  was  told,  but  cannot  recollect  by  whom,  that  Captain 
and  Adjutant  Burns  had  endeavoured  to  persuade  the  junior 
Officers  to  absent  themselves  from  dinner.  I  think  Major  Pe- 
ters was  present  when  this  circumstance  was  mentioned:  I 
certainly  did  not  hear  that  Captain  Burns  did  endeavour  to 
breed  a  party  in  the  Regiment. 

Here  Captain  Burns  closed  his  case,  stating  as  his  opinion* 
that  the  evidence  of  Colonel  Drury  alone  was  sufficient  to  ex- 
culpate him  from  being  guilty  of  the  charges  for  which  he  had 
been  held  under  an  arrest,  and  for  which  he  had  now  stood  his 
trial ;  and  therefore  considered  it  unnecessary  to  detain  the  Court 
by  calling  any  more  witnesses. — In  the  course  of  Captain  B's 
closing  address  to  the  Court  he  referred  to  the  nature  of  the 
evidence  which  had  been  Jl)rought  before  it,  and  also  to  the 
circumstances  which  led  to  his  trialy-^a  detail  of  which  will 
appear  in  the  Appendix. 


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JLN  order  the  more  satisfactorily  to  go  into  the  history  of  th« 
circumstances  connected  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Court  Mar- 
tial referred  to,  in  the  preceding  Minutes,  it  may  not  be  un- 
necessary to  give  the  reader  a  brief  sketch  of  ;!ie  several  inci- 
dents which  nave  led»to  my  late  standing  in  the  Militia,  from 
the  time  I  joined  that  Corps  as  an  officer. 

In  the  year  1815,  I  was  solicited  by  Major  John  Ward, 
who  then  had  the  command  of  the  Saint  John  City  and  County 
Militia,  to  accept  of  the  situation  of  Adjutant,  with  the  rank  of 
Ensign.  I  complied  with  this  request,  and  received  my  ap- 
pointment from  the  Commander-in-Chielj  accordingly.  At  thi^ 
time,  and  down  to  the  year  1821,  the  Saint  John  Militia  con- 
sisted of  only  one  Battalion.  At  the  latter  period,  it  was,  how- 
ever, divided  into  two  distinct  Battalions— one  called  the  City 
Militia,  the  other  the  County  Militia :  tlie  former  was  consi- 
dered as  No.  1  Battalion,  the  latter  as  No.  2.  When  this  ar- 
rangement took  place,  Major  Ward  retired,  and  No.  1  Batta- 
lion was  put  in  charge  of  Major  Drury,  who  hs^d  formerly  been 
Captain  in  the  Army, — and  No.  2  Battalion,  was  placed  under 
the  command  of  Major  Simonds. 

In  consequence  of  my  having  been  previously  attached  to 
the  old  Battalion,  as  Adjutant,  Mis  Excellency  was  pleased  to 
appoint  hie,  in  ihixt  Ccipiicitv,  to  No.  I  B;'.ttaliori,  with  the  rank, 
of  Captain.  Tliis  v>-a:-i  rather  an  uiiprecedoatcd  aj)pointment, 
as  no  instaivce,  that  1  know  oU  exists  in  tiie  sttiiidiug  army,  of 
an  Adjutant  holdiM>.>'  a  rank  higher  than  that  of  Lieutenant:-— 
this  deviation,  however,  from  the  p;cneral  system,  vus  judged 
proj)er,  in  as  far  as  it  enabled  me  to  have  additional  control 
over  the  jiiuior  oflicers  on  driU  diiys. 

"Shortlv  after  thi';,  the  City  Batt.'.lion  was  ajniin  divided — one 
pa''t  being  called  No.  1,  and  the  otii'jr  No.  3.  M.ijor  Wheeler 
was  aj>p(ii'.Uod  to  the  conitnand  of  No.  8  Battalion.  No  ofiici' 
general  altenitions  took  place  in  the  Siilnt  .folni  Militia,  until  .f!)e 
year  1821.  when  His  Hc-cccllency  Sir  Howard  Douglas,  placed 
himself  Colonel  oi'tlic  lirst  Battalion  City  and  County  Militia. 
and,  at  the  same  time,  jironiotcd  Majors  Drury  and  Simondf  i"; 

P 


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to  the  rank  of  Lieutenan|-CoIonel.  At  this  time  also,  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief issued  a  General  Order,  styling  No.  1,  a 
Light  Infantry  Battalion,  and  expressed  a  wish,  that  the  Officers 
.should  equip  themselves  accordingly ;  which,  as  the  Militia  mania 
raged  pretty  extensively,  was  attended  to  without  delay.  His 
Excellency's  desire  was  very  much  promoted,  in  this  instance, 
by  the  appointment  of  Captain  Peters,  in  1824,  as  Majoi'  of  the 
Light  Infantry  Battalion ;  for,  with  a  zeal,  laudable  surely  in 
itself,  and  truly  becoming  an  Officer  holding  the  rank  to  which 
he  was  then  promoted,  he  appeared  to  spare  neither  time  nor 
expense,  in  uniforming  himself,  and  in  persuading  the  Officers 
under  him  to  do  so  also. — It  is  unnecessary  here  to  lake  notice  of 
the  general  opinion  which  now  exists,  not  only  in  the  public  mind, 
but  also  in  the  minds  of  those  officers  themselves,  regarding  the 
wisdom  by  which  they  were  then  directed,  as  well  as  the  great 
utility  of  the  measure  itself. — One  thing  is  certain,  a  number  of 
them  would  not  at  the  present  moment  allow  themselves  to  be 
so  easily  cajoled  out  of  £4iO  or  .£50  for  a  Military  dress  as  they 
then  ordered. 

Bdt  Major  Peters'  exertions  were  not  merely  confined  to  out- 
ward show,  they  were  applied  also  to  the  actual  discipline  of  the 
Battalion  generally — more  particularly  so,  as  regarded  himself 
and  the  other  officers.— rin  1825  he  called  upon  me,  requesting 
me,  as  drilling  officer,  to  devote  a  certain  number  of  hours  every 
week  to  the  instructing  of  the  officers  in  military  evolutions. 
To  this,  however,  I  objected — and  I  believe,  from  that  moment, 
an  unpleasant  feeliprT  was  excited  in  the  breast  of  the  Major  to- 
wards me. — I  objected  to  his  requisition  on  two  grounds,  name- 
ly, that  I  never  understood  or  acknowledged  him  to  have  the  cont' 
mand  of  the  Batalion,*  and,  that  the  loss  of  time  which  would 
be  necessary  Ibr  nVc  to  suffer,  was  neither  required  by  the  Mili- 
tia Law,  nor  consistent  with  my  necessary  avocations. — I  might 
add  also;  that  I  could  not  see  what  benefit  could  arise  from  it, 
my  opinion  being,  that  any  temporary  drilling  is  ineffectual, 
unleas  in  the  immediate  prospect  of  going  into  actual  service. 

No  misunderstanding,  however,  of  an  overt  description  had, 
at  this  time,  taken  place,  either  between  myself  and  the  Major, 
or  between  myself  and  any  other  officer  belonging  to  the  Batta- 
lion ;  and  1  believe  I  can  appeal  to  every  officer  under  whom  I 
served,  from  the  time  I  was  appointed  Adjutant,  down  to  the 
uonlh  of  October,  1826, — that  I  faithfully  attended  to  the  dis- 
^'large  of  my  duty  in  that  capacity,  when  the  circumstances  oc«» 

iT'id  whi'h  lad  to  the  Major's  making  a  regular  complaint  of, 

,i  ha  never  was  GazettaJ  u  Commtnilins  Officeri  and,  as  I  knaw  tb*t  Colontl 


-•1: 
\    ■ 


•-  »     \ 


•7 


the  Coin- 
No.  1,  a 
B  Officers 
tia  mania 
ay.  His 
instance, 
jw  of  the 
surely  in 
to  which 
time  nor 
!  Officers 
notice  of 
•lie  mind, 
•ding  the 
he  ^reat 
umber  of 
'es  to  be 
is  as  they 

d  to  out- 
ne  of  the 
I  himself 
questing 
irs  every 
olutions. 
noment, 
f  ajor  to- 
,  name- 
the  com- 
h  would 
le  Mili- 
I  might 
from  it, 
(fectual, 
rvice. 

on  had. 

Major, 

Batta- 

vhom  I 

to  the 

the  dis- 

ices  oc^ 

aint  of, 

It  ColontI 


wtjat  he  called,  my  misconduct,  to  the  Inspecting  Field  Officer, 
Colonel  Love. — These  circumstances  I  will  now  relate. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1826,  the  City  Militia  was  ordered 
out,  according  to  Law,  for  Drill  and  Inspection,  on  or  about  the 
6t4j  or  7th  of  that  monlli : — The  1st  Battalion  assembled  ac- 
cordingly about  eight  or  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  ;-^cause« 
of  a  <loniestic  nature  prevented  Major  Peters'  appearing  on  the 
ground  that  day :  neither  did  Co)  nel  Drury  the  Commanding 
Officer  attend  the  parade — the  day  was  very  Wet  and  rainy,  but 
as  1  was  anxious  that  the  opportunity  alVorded  for  instruct- 
ing both  the  officers  and  men,  should  be  improved  as  iruich  as 
possible,  I  sent  a  Sergeant  with  a  message  to  Colonel  Drury, 
requesting  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  give  an  order  for  the  is- 
suing of  arms— I  did  this  repeatedly,  but  Colonel  Drury  (very 
judiciously  in  my  opinion)  would  not  allow  the  arms  to  be  taken 
out  of  the  Armory,  on  account  of  the  weather  being  so  extremely 
wet. — A  general  feeling  of  discontent,  also  manifested  itself  in 
the  ranks,  both  amongst  officers  and  men,  at  being  kept 
on  the  ground  exposed  to  the  rain, — so  much  .so  indeed,  that 
both  threatnings  and  persuasions,  proved  alike  inefiectual  in 
preventing  them  from  running  for.  shelter  to  tiie  neighbouring 
houses.  After  consulting  with  the  several  officers  commanding 
companies,  regarding  the  propriety  of  dismissing  the  men  for 
that  day,  we  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  not  doing  so,  would 
greatly  increase  the  refractory  spirit,  which  was  then  generally 
evinced.  I  accordingly  dismissed  them  at  eleven  o'clock.  Not 
only  did  my  feelings  on  the  occasion  induce  me  to  do  so,  but  I 
conceived  myself,  as  Commanding  Officer  on  the  ground,  fully 
authorized  in  taking  that  step.  Besides  this,  the  Commanding 
Officer,  Colonel  Drury,  approved  of  my  conduct.  And  if  any 
thing  farther  were  necessary  to  be  brought  forward,  in  exculpa- 
tion of  that  day's  alledmxl  otfence,  I  might  refer  to  ^  stter 
which  I  received  from  Msijor  Peters  himself,  a  copy  of  which 
is  as  follows  : — 

1  Saint  John,  August  3d,  1826. 

'-*^   My  dear  Sir,   '"   ^ 

The  illness  of  Mrs.  Peters,  who  is  at  Gngetown,  calls  me  Trom  tlie  City  apain  in  th« 
morning,  and  I  am  fearful  it  will  not  be  in  my  power  to  return  for  Mondny's  Militis 
duty,  in  which  case,  you  will  ijikc  charge  of  the   liattalion  and  inafi'tict  it  in  vhe  sam« 
movements  that  wnro  practised  last  year,  and  by  so  doing  you  will  oblige  greailv. 
Your  Humble  Servant,  BENJAMIN  L.  PETEUS, 

Zlajor  \st  BaUalion  City  Militia. 
To  Captain  Lewis  BuiiiSs,  ^(//u<a)j<.  "•* 

On  the  second  day's  drill,  Major  Peters  was  in  Town,  and 
attended  the  Parade,  and,  being  senior  Officer,  took  command  of 
the  Battalion.     He  assembled  the  Officers  in  front  of  the  Bat- 
talion, and  expressed  to  them  the  high  sense,  which  he  enter- 
tained erf  the  manner  in  which  they  had  performed  their  duty,^ 


;■' 


41 


*•■ 


Individually  and  collectively.  And  even  after  doing  this,  he 
invited  me  to  his  house  to  partake  of  some  refreshment,  where 
he  repeated  his  sentiments  of  approbation,  and  thanked  me  per- 
sonally for  the  assistance  and  siipport,^which  I  bad  afforded  hini 
in  the  performance  of  my  duty,  as  Adjutant,  both  upon  that  and 
the  former  drill  day. — Lven  the  Inspecting  Field  Officer  him- 
self, did  not  express  any  sentiment  of  disapprobation  on  account 
of  the  men  having  been  allowed  to  retire  from  the  ground  at  so 
early  an  hour  on  the  first  day  ofdrill. — He,  also,  was  at  that  time 
iic(jurtinted  with  all  the  circumstances  rehitive  to  the  transaction. 

On  the  day  of  the  General  Inspection,  the  Battalions  were  on 
the  ground  at  the  usual  hour.  After  having  assembled,  they 
were  marched  to  the  Flats  for  the  purpose  of  being  reviewed  by 
the  Inspecting  Field  Officer. — I  was  then  asked  by  Major  Pe- 
ters whether  it  would  be  proper  to  receive  the  Inspecting  Field 
Officer  under  a  salute  from  the  Artillery  Guns. — I  said  it 
would  not, — as  he  did  not  hold  the  rank  of  a  General  Officer. 
Tlie  Inspecting  Field  Officer's  Aidf  (if  he  may  be  so  styled,)  Ma- 
jor Wedderburn,  on  making  his  appearance,  said  to  Major 
Peters,  why  was  a  Salute  not  fired  on  the  reception  ol  the  Inspec- 
ting Officer  ? — To  thia  question  Major  Peters  seemed  rather  to  be 
at  a  loss  for  a  direct  answer,  being  apparently  unwilling  to  hurt 
the  feelings  of  any  party,  but  nt  last  said,  that  he  had  not  time 
to  do  so, — he  having  previously  understood  my  opinion  upon  the 
subject. 

The  Inspection  having  been  gone  through  ih  the  usual  way, 
Colonel  Love  rode  up  to  me,  and  said  that  he  understood  from 
Major  Peters,  that  I  had  dismissed  the  mc.  on  the  first  day  of 
drill,  at  an  earlier  hour  than  was  necessarv,  and,  that  I  had  not 
appeared,  on  that  day,  in  full  uniform  : — With  regard  to  the  sub- 
ject mattt-r  of  the  first  j)art  of  this  complaint,  I  told  him  that  I, 
being  commanding  officer  on  that  day,  I  only  (not  Major  Peters) 
was  the  judge  of  the  proper  mode  in  which  the  Battalion  should 
be  disposed  of. — With  regard  tomy  not  appearing  in  full  uniform, 
I  nierelv  told  him  that  I  had  uniformed  nccordiu*;  to  Law,  and 
that  as  he  appeared  to  be  ignorant  of  what  the  Law  required  in 
this  respect,  my  advice  to  him  was  tliat  he  had  better  go  home 
and  read  it. — Even  Major  Peters  himself,  who  joined  us  du- 
ring the  course  of  this  conversation,  admitted  that,  as  I  had  ap- 
peared on  the  ground  with  a  sword  and  belt,  th"  Law  did  not 
recuiire  anything  more,  and,  that  so  far,  I  was  in  the  right. 

>fVhatever  effect  this  conversation  might  have  had  on  the  feel- 
irigs  of  Major  Peters,  it  was  evident  that  on  the  part  of  Colonel 
Love,  it  did  not  tend  to  exalt  me  in  his  estimation: — And  I  be- 
lieve, that  his  subsequent  orders  to  the  Battalion,  will  bear  me 
•ut  in  this  o|)inion.    .  •       •* 


mgs  o] 

iaspec 


Immeclrately  after  this,  the  three  Battali6ns,th6n  dh  ihegfoatS, 
were  ordered  to  form  a  hollow  square.  This  was  done  for  th« 
purpose  of  publicly  reprimanding  Captain  Kinnear's  Company, 
for  having  appeared  on  the  ground  without  their  uniform  dress 
6n  the  second  day  of  drill. — The  relation  of  this  circumstance, 
however,  is  not  intended  to  throw  any  reflection  on  the  men  be- 
longing to  that  company,  there  previously  having  existed  be- 
tween them  and  their  Captain  (sanctioned  also  by  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  Battalion)  a  written  contract,  that,  provided  they 
should  have  the  use  of  arms,  on  any  particular  day  in  the  year 
on  which  they  might  make  a  recjuest  to  that  effect,  they  would 
goto  the  expente  of  clothing  themselves  in  military  uniform — 
but  as  this  had  been  refused  them  in  the  absence  of  Captain 
Kinnear,  by  Major  Peters,  they  did  not  conceive  themselves 
bound  to  attend  (Irill  in  any  other  dress  than  that  pointed  out  by 
the  Law' — neither  were  they.  On  this  occasion,  no  officer  be- 
longing to  the  company  being  present  to  take  command  of  it* 
after  they  were  brought  in  front  of  the  Battalions  and  repriman- 
ded by  the  Inspecting  Field  Oilicer  ;  the  non-commissioned 
ofHcers  were  called  out  in  front  of  the  company, — ordered  to  tak^ 
off  their  ca})g,  and  to  beg  Major  Peters'  pardbn, — it  being  sup- 
posed by  the  Inspecting  Field  Olticer  and  Major  P.  that  the^ 
had  been  instrumental  in  pre  venting  the  men  from  wearing  uni- 
form oiv  that  day.  With  this  order,  the  non-commissioned  offi- 
cers peremptorily  refused  to  comply ;  stilting  at  the  same  time, 
that  if  they  were  sensible  of  being  guilty  of  any  misconduct  to- 
wards an  officer,  they  were  perfectly  tlisposed  to  make  any  rea- 
sonable apology; — but,  as  in  this  instance,  they  did  not  conceive 
themselves  to  be  in  fault,  they  considered  any  acknowledgment 
to  that  effect  .altogether  unnecessary  and  improper.  This  order 
of  Colonel  Love' =,  appeared  to  me  to  overstep  theb'^unds  of  the 
discipline  prescribed  by  the  Militia  Laws  of  the  Province,  and  I 
could  not  therefore  refrain  from  expressing  to  the  non-commis* 
sioned  officers  of  that  company,  and  to  the  Battalion  generally, 
the  impropriety  there  would  be  in  obeying  it.  I  took  the  op-^ 
portnnity  also,  at  the  same  time,  of  stating  publicly  there,  that  I 
would  not  give  my  countenance  to  such  arbitrary  measures  as 
the  Inspecting  Field  Officer  and  Major  Peters  appeared  to  be 
desirous  of  introducing.  I  added  also,  that,  that  wasthelast  oc- 
casion on  which  I  should  do  the  duty  of  an  officer  so  long  as 
Colonel  Love  and  Major  Peters  had  any  controul  over  the  Bat- 
talion, unless  called  so  to  do  in  case  ofan  actual  in vasiou.  With 
this  1  bid  the  Gentlemen  good  morniilg,  and  left  the  field. 

My  observations  on  this  occasion,  seemed  to  have  excited  feel* 
ings  of  a  very  unpleasant  nature  towards  me  in  the  breast  of  the 
liispecting  Field  Officer,  and  in  that  of  Major  Peters  j   for  on 


» 


•'A 


■*  % 


I 


I  it   ' 


the  9th  day  of  October  ensuing,  Colonel  Drury  tailed  upon 
me,  and  informed  me,  that  a  complaint  had  been  made  against 
tne  by  Colonel  Love,  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  on  account 
of  my  conduct  towards  him  (Colonel  Love)  on  the  day  of  In- 
spection— the  14th  August  last ;  and  al'^o,  for  having  diismissed 
the  Battalion  at  too  early  an  hour  on  the  first  day  of  drill, — ^that 
I  must  therefore  consider  myself  under  an  arrest,  for  that  His 
Excellency  had  given  directions  foi*  the  assembling  of  the  Field 
Officers  at  his  (Colonel  Drury's)  house  on  the  11th,  to  investi- 
gate the  complaint.  1  told  Colonel  Drury,  that  as  the  matter  ap- 
peared to  be  assuming  an  arbitrary  aspect,  I  should  require  him 
to  I'urnish  me  with  a  vvritlen  nolilication  to  atto.nd  the  meeting 
of  Field  Oflloers,  and  also  a  copy  of  the  complaint  to  be  preter- 
rcd  against  me  on  that  day.  He  accordingly  wrote  me  a  note 
on  the  9th,  enclosing  a  copy  of  Colonel  Love's  communication 
to  the  Commander-in-Chieli  containing  the  complaint  against 
me.     The  following  arc  copies  of  these  documents : — 


Sir, 


Saint  John,  9th  OcTonnn,  1826. 


A  com;)lainl  having;  been  made  to  tho  Comfii.  nJer-ip-C!iief,  by  Lioutenant-Colonel 
Love,  Inspecting  Field  O.Ticer  of  Militia  in  iliis  l^iovincc,  aj/ninst  you.  His  Excol- 
laocy  his  directcil  the  F!«iJ  Officers  of  the  City  and  County  Militia  should  assemhle 
on  Wednesday  the  lltli  instant,  at  twelve  o'clock,  at  Lieutenant-Colonel  Drury's 
Houric,  to  investigate  lliis  matter  aad  to  rejjort  to  liiin  thereon. — Vou  arc  hereby  ordor- 


•d  to  attend  this  meeting. 


To  Captain  and  Arljutant  BrnNS,  \ 
Ist  Battalion  City  Militia.        5 


I  havo  the  honor  to  he  Sir, 

Your  obedient  Servant, 
CHARLES DRURY, 
lAeuUnant-Colonel  Commanding  City  Militia. 


^ 


I, 


Sir, 


(Copy.) 


Saint  John,  September  26th,  1826. 


on  t 


h 

i    } 


m  * 


It  Is  with  much  regret,  I  have  to  make  a  complaint  against  an  Officer  of  the  Militia, 
particularly  as  I  have  in  every  instance,  ex'opt  tho  present,  met  with  the  ino^t  cordial 
support  from  every  individual  iri  my  endeavours  tii  improve  their  discipline  and  appear- 
ance ;  but  as  it  is  impossible  that  I  can  pi?rlbrin  the  duty  imposed  upon  me  by  lh« 
Commandcr-in-(;l)iff  if  I  am  subjected  to  the  liiyhly  insubordinate  conduct  I  havo  to 
complain  of;  1  feel  myself  called  upon  to  (i)rwur<l  through  you  a  rei|uest  to  HisE-tcel- 
lency  for  that  support  in  the  duo  porforinancu  of  my  duty,  >vithout  which  my  appoint- 
ment can  be  of  no  use. 

Having  in  conrirmiiy  with  the  .';4th  section  of  the  Militia  Law,  received  His  Exsel- 
Icncy'.s  insiruclioTKs  to  jiipcrintcnd  the  Drill  and  Instruction  of  the  Militia,  I  repaired 
for  that  purpose  to  the  parade  ground  of  tin  l.^t  Haitalion  of  tho  City  Regiment,  but 
found  upon  my  arrival,  that  Ihc  Adpjtant,  Captaiu  Burns,  had,  in  tho  unavoidabia 
absence  of  the  ('oinmandinr;  Offioer,  laUou  upon  linnself  to  distniss  them,  upon  tlip.  plea 
as  I  understood,  of  the  wcailior  beiii?  wet,  altluiiiijli  it  waS  by  no  means  such,  as  to 
prevent  the  IJattalionfrom  parading,  ("pon  the  General  Inspection  of  the  Battalion  on 
the  14th  August,  on  the  sands,  Mnjor  Peters,  the  (-'ommanding  Oiriccr,c.\pr<Jssod  tome 
his  regret  thiit  the  Raitaliou  hrid  been  dismissed  on  the  day  of  drill,  as  it  was  his  inten- 
tion they  should  have  profiited  by  my  instruction.  Thinking  it  therefore  my  duty  to 
enquire  into  the  cu.use,  of  llio  Law  iio\  having  been  coinplietl  with  on  that  day,  I 
addressed  myself  to  Captain  Burns,  before  his  ('oinmamliiig  Of.icer,  and  received  for 
answer,  in  the  most  insubordinate  manner,  and  in  tho  presence  of  the  Uegimeut,  tiiat 
h«  as  Comtnanding  Officer,  chose  to  dismiss  thetn,  nrji  being  obliged  to  keep  men  out 
ii4  th<i  wet.  addinp  that  he  knew  the  ?.,awa8  well  a»  I  did,  ha<)  no  right  to  wear  unifijrm 
«n/«tf  hn  pleased,  and  further  he  wnulJ  tell  m«,  th.it  I  had  no  busint.ss  to  bi  prasant  oa 


longei 
ment 
tia  Gt 
thing 
The  r 
will  s( 
jutant 
Ordej 


(■  ' » 


d  upon 
against 
account 
y  of  In- 
sniissed 
1,— :that 
hat  His 
le  Field 
investi- 
atter  ap- 
iiire  him 
meeting 
5  preier- 
e  a  note 
mication 
t  against 

tn,  1326. 

ant-Colonal 
His  Exccl- 
ild  assonihla 
)nel  Drury's 
aroby  ordar- 

nt, 

RURY, 
ity  Militia. 


TH,  1826. 

f  the  MiUtia, 
noi^t  cordial 

;  and  appear- 
me  by  tho 

Id  I  have  to 

o  His  Excel- 
iiiy  appoint- 

d  Hig  Exsel- 
a,  I  rftpairod 
cgimcnt,  but 

tinavoidablo 
upon  ilip  pie* 
IS  such,  as  to 

U:itlRlion  on 

prtfssnd  to  me 

vas  his  mten- 

e  my  duty  to 

that  day,  I 

rencived  lor 

ipimeat,  that 
icep  tnsn  out 
we&r  unifijrm 
111  present  <>» 


th«ir  prirttttt  Dill  dayt :  had  no  command  over  them,  my  duty  being  merely  to  inepeet 
them,  when  they  were  paraded  for  that  purpose.  This,  as  far  as  1  can  recollect,  waa 
the  substance  of  what  ho  said,  though  1  am  not  quite  positive  of  the  exact  words,  but 
his  conduct  was  so  iiiHubordinato  and  so  unofficer-like  as  to  draw  down  thfr^istpproba* 
tion  of  all  who  heard  liim,  and  obligud  ine  lo  command  him  to  be  silent. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  point  out  to  you,  the  danj^rous  tendency  of  such  conduct, 
striking  at  once  at  the  root  of  discipline,  but  will  only  add,  that  in  addition  (o  what  I  have 
been  already  obliged  to  call  your  attention,  I  was  informed  that  after  the  parade,  this 
officer  not  satisfied  with  the  mischief  he  had  already  done  endeavoured  to  persuade  the 
officers,  particularly  the  younger  ones  of  the  Battalion,  to  absent  themselves  from  tb« 
annual  Dinner,  (|>u(  without  effect)  thereby  doing  all  in  bis  power  to  cr«iite  t  jmrty  ia 
the  Regiment,  I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir, 

»• '  Your  most  Obedient,  '' 

^  ■  •  -    ^     -    ■,     ' "'  y,  '  ••      Huuibie  Servant,    '  » 

JAMHS  F.  LOVE, 

1  ..        .     ,    ■'  Licut.-Col.  and  Jua2)ectiiig  Field  Officer. 

I  attended  the  meeting  of  Field  Officers  on  the  1 1th,  the  pro- 
ceedings of  which,  need  not  be  detailed;  as  they  come  out  in  the 
course  of  Colonel  Drury's  examination  ;  I  may  however  state, 
that  as  I  observed  the  very  persons  with  whom  the  complaint 
had  originated,  sitting  there,  in  the  capacity  of  judges  or  inves- 
tigators of  the  same,  I  objected  to  the  whole  afiair,  as  being  ir- 
regularly conducted,  and  requested  Colonel  Drury  to  apply  to 
the  Commander-in-Chief  for  a  General  Court  Martial.  I  was 
accordingly  discharged  for  that  day ;  but  was  directed  to  consi- 
der myself  still  under  an  arrest,  until  further  orders. 

Nothing  fiirther  transpired,  relative  to  this  business,  until  the 
10th  day  of  November,  when  I  received  a  communication  from 
Major  Peters,  enclosing,  what  he  called  a  Militia  General  Ordbr, 
The  copy  of  the  order  appears  in  the  minutes  of  the  Court 
Martial.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  Major's  note  to  me 
on  the  occasion  : — 

SAINT  JOHN,  N.  B.  November  lOlh,  \826. 
Sir, — The  Adjutant-General  of  Militia  Forces  dirocis  me  to  acquaint  you  with  a 
Militia    General  Order,  under  date  of  the   26th  of  October,  1S26,    a  copy  of  which  I 
have  the  honor  to  enclose. 

With  respect,  I  am  your  obedient  Servant, 

BENJAMIN  L.  PETERS, 
Major  Commanding  \st  Battalion,  City  Militia,  St.  John,  N.  B. 

To  Captain  LEWIS  BURNS,  Isl  Batt.  ) 

City  Militia,  St.  John.  J  *     ,  ; 

On  my  receiving  the  copy  of  the  Adjutant-General's  commu- 
nication reft^rred  to  in  the  above  note,  I  considered  myself  no 
longer  an  officer  of  the  Militia  ;  not  that  I  conceived  the  docu- 
ment in  itself  regular,  it  having  never  been  Gazetted  as  a  Mili- 
tia General  Order ;  but  1  felt  pleased  to  find  that  I  had  some- 
thing in  the  shape  of  an  excuse  for  retiring  from  the  service.— 
The  reader,  by  referring  to  the  Minutes  of  the  Court  Martial, 
w  ill  see  that  the  instrument  is  only  a  private  letter  from  the  Ad- 
jutant-General to  his  friend  Major  Peters — and  not  a  General 
Order.  ,        >^      - 


J 


ii 


d« 


r     - 

u 


As  ftppetn  on  evidence  in  the  Minutes,  I  had  b  conversntiofi 
with  Colonel Drury  regarding  this  letter;  when  he  stated  expli- 
citly to  me,  that  if  I  considered  the  order  as  proceeding  from 
the  Commander-in-Chief,  I  could  no  longer  consider  myself  an 
officer  of  the  Militia.*  I  went  away  satisfied  with  this  aclvice  or 
opinion,  and  never  expected  to  have  any  thing  more  to  do  with 
militia  affiiirs: — Nor  did  I  liear  or  see  any  tiling  more  on  the 
subject,  until  some  time  in  the  month  of  April,.  I887,when  I  ob- 
served in  some  of  the  newspapers,  a  "  Militia  Gen&ral  Oit- 
t>ER>"  which  contained  the  following  notice : 
•  •    * 

.  "  Head-  Quarters,  FrcdeTieton,  i 


2(ith  March,  1827. 
MILITIA   GENERAL  ORDERS. 

Bit  Excellency  is  pleased  to  make  the  fuilnwin;;  Promotions,  Sac.  :— 

\st  Hattalion  St.  John  City  Militia. 
Captaia Gawge  D.  Robinson,  to  be  Aiijutant,  vice  Burns. 
Bn  Command, 
«  GEORGE  SHORE,  A.  G.  M. 


J 


r. 


On  reading  this  order,  I  must  confess  I  was  verv  much  sur- 
prised — I  do  not  mean  to  say  disappointed,  or  grieved  ;  but,  as 
Colonel  Drury  had  promised  to  apply  for  a  General  Court 
Martial,  I  had  always  indulged  the  hope  that  I  should  have  a 
fair  trial — and  the  reason  why  thi;*  was  denied  me,  I  have  never 
been  able  to  find  out.  My  readers  therefore  must,  like  myself, 
he  left  to  form  their  own  conjectures  on  taking  a  general  vievV 
of  all  the  circumstances  connected  with  this  allair.  I  again  cal- 
led on  Co'ionel  Drury,  being  doubtful  whether  the  Governor 
himself  had  power  to  deprive  me  of  my  rank  in  the  Militia,  un- 
less by  sentence  of  a  Court  Martial. — I  wastidiy  .satisfied,  how- 
ever, from  what  Colonel  Diury  said,  that  he  had  that  power, 
and  of  course  coiisidcrofl  iDvseJf  from  t'lat  time  as  havinff  no 
connection  with  the  Militia — at  ail  even;;-)  not  .as  an  o.'Iicer. 

In  the  nioiill'  oiJuly,  howevor,  I  observed  in  the  New- 
Brunswick  Courier  of  the  1  kb  of  that  month,  vn  .■Id'.vi/isemi'nti 
{.I  regular  order  it  certninly  wns  not)  her'le;!  Mii.itia  OuDEns, 
nnd  signed  "  George  D.  Robiiisoii,  Adjrian!,"  as  referred  to 
in  pages  17  and  IB. 

t  again  called  on  Colonel  Drury,  who  expressed  his  opinion 
to  be  the  same  as  when  I  fi)rniorly  called  upon  him,  and  the 
same  also  as  lie  gave  in  Iiis  c\ido'iCc  betorc  the  Court,  viz.  that 
if  I  were  dls^: laced  as  AtijUtuUt,  I  couid  no  longer  be  an  oflicer.f 

*I  always  consi.!nrc;I  Coloiiei  Pr.;ry(o]io  tlio  Cotiviiaii(ii;ii;  Ofiiccr  of  the  B:itta- 
lioQ,  and  of  conrao  the  proper  jicrsori  lo  apply  to  in  nil  mnitcrs  ichiiiii','  to  it- 

'  1 1  «oW  Colonel  J>  u -y,  I  Iiad  Utidnrstooil  tliat,  tlimv.th  ilii-i  iiniiro  \v;is  sijncil  by  Ail- 
jiit:i-^t  Rolji::^on,  and  ■*  Oy  Command'''  also,  that  the  whula  taatier  ItaJ  ori^inaieJ  with 
Major  P.  hitnielf. 


kingi 
wrin/ 


S3 


sutioti 
expU- 
frora 
self  an 
ice  or 
0  with 
on  the 
n  I  ob- 
L  Oft- 


eton, ; 


M.  r. 

ch  9ur- 
but,  as 
il  Court 
have   a 
ve  never 
J  myself, 
ral  vievtr 
gain  cal- 
lovernor 
litia,  un- 
ed,  how- 
It  power, 
iving  no 
<;er. 
le    New- 

t'errud  to 

s  opinion 
and  the 

,  viz.  that 
1  oftk'or.f 

It 

;iancil  by  Ail- 
iginaied  will> 


He  then  said,  tl»at  Major  P.  certainly  had  not  the  power  to 
appoint  me  Captain  of  a  Company  in  the  Militia, — that  this  ap- 
pointment rested  exclusively  with  the  Commarider-in-Chief, — 
and  that,  in  the  eml^  Major  Peters  would  make  himself  ajjpear 
very  ridiculous,  in  having  attempted  to  appoint  any  one  to  tiie 
command  of  a  Company,  \,ho  held  no  rank  as  an  officer  be- 
Jongin":  to  the  Battalion.  * 

The  circumstatices,  however,  connected  with  this  notification, 
must  not  be  here  overlooked,  as  they  were  the  fruitful  source 
from  whence  all  the  subsequent  trouble  I  have  been  put  to, 
has  proceeded.     I  feel  well  convinced,  in  my  own  mind,   that 
Major  Peters  himself  was  aware,  that  he  could  not,  under  the 
circumstances  in  which  I  was  then  placed,  appoint  me  to  the  com- 
mand of  a  company.     But  he  had  his  own  ends  to  answer ;  and 
1  believe,  in  this  instance,  as  in  other  instances  also,  which 
have  lately  been  brought  to  public  notice,  regarding  his  con- 
duct when  holding  an  official  situation,  he  shews  very  little  re- 
spect for  propriety,  or  regard  to  principle, — his  object  generally 
is,  to  gain  his  point,  whether  it  be  right  or  wrong ;  and  that  no 
measure,   however   arbitrary,  should  be  left   unattempted,  in 
order  to  accomplish  it. , 

It  so  happened,  that  Major  Peters  had  a  nephew — a  thriving 
sprig  of  the  Law,  and  practising  as  Barrister  in  the  Supreme 
Court.     This  young  man  had  the  managenent  of  a   Suit  in 
Court,  (the  nature  of  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  mention  here,) 
upon  which  I  was  summoned  as  an  evidence.  ,  He  had  the 
■wrong  side,  however,  and,  with  a  view,  I  suppose,  of  shewing 
his  abilities,  employed  his  caustic  powers  in  throwing  out  re- 
flections on  the  conduct  of  Burns  &  Jordan. -, In  doing  so,  he 
made  use  of  insinuations,  which  1  feit  disposed  to  view  in  alight, 
rather  bordering  on  implications  against -my  personal  character. 
— I  thereforetold  him  plainly,  in  open  Court,  that,  so  soon  as  an 
adjournment  took  place,  I  should  do  myself  the  pleasure  of  ta- 
king steps  of  a  retaliatory  kind — in  jilain  terms,  that  I  would 
wring  his  nose. — Whether  1  faithfully  redeemed  this  pledge 
or  not,  it   is  of  little  consequence   now  to  say. — I  believe  the 
Public  are  perfectly  satisfied  upon  this  point. — These  circum- 
stances took  place  about  the  month  of  September. 

In  the  month  of  September,  an  order  appeared  in  the  City 
Papers,  appointing  a  Court  Martial  to  be  held  in  this  place,  for 
the  trial  of  Major  Scott,  of  the  Westmorland  County  Militia, 
on  the  4th  of  October  next  ensuing. — In  the  interim,  howev- 
er, I  received  a  notification  from  Adjutant-General  Shore,  to 
attend  that  Court  Martial,to  answer  to  certain  charges,  (a  copy 
of  which  he  enclosed)  that  would  then  be  preferred  against  me. 


*  ■' 


E  ■ 


V      ' 


>f 


■  !>•■ 


A  similBr  noUce  wm  also  sent  me  by  ttie  Judge  AdvocatA-^Tli« 
Ibllowing  are  copies  of  these  notifications :— 

i 


life 


Sir, 


HxiD  Quarters,  FllKDeitioToir, 
19th  Septxmbee,  1827. 


^IM  cMHqatno*  of  (he  hichljr  aontflinptuoin  andfimproper  conduct  manifeitad  by  jrett 
in  refuting  to  roemre  the  Muaisr  Roll  of  the  Bsttalion  Company  No.  1,  of  the  lit  Bat* 
Uiion  St  John  City  IVIilitia  to. which  you  belong,  when  handed  to  you  by  Captain  anit 
Adjutant  Robinson,  by  order  of  Major  Peters  commanding  ;— 1  ha«a  received  Ilia  Ex- 
(ellenoy'a  commands  to  acquaint  you,  that  you  are  to  consider  yourself  undor  arrest  at 
large,  and  to  hold  yourself  in  readiness  to  be  tried  by  a  General  Court  Martial,  which 
ia  ordered  to  assemble  at  Saint  John  on  Tuesday  the  30th  day  of  October  next. 

Tou  will  therefore,  furnish  me,  without  delay,  with  the  names  of  auoh  persona  aa  nay 
be  required  by  you,  as  witnesses  in  your  defence. 

£ncIoMd  ia  a  copy  of  the  charges  exhibited  against  you.  > 

SJl  hit  £4Ct//lRC)|>  Commemd, 

GEORGE  SHORE,  Adjutant-General, 

MtUHu  Forteu. 
Captain  Li  WIS  BDitifS,!  • 

let  Battalion  St.  John  >  • 

City  Militia.  J  \        '' 


Sir, 


Frkderioi  i>if,  9tb  Octobbr,  1827. 


I  herewith  transmit  to  you  ft  copy  of  the  charges  which  have  been  exhibited  againat 
you,  and  handed  to  me  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Shore,  the  Adjutant-Genot'al,  and  on 
which  you  will  be  tried  by  the  General  Court  Martial,  ordered  to  assemble  on  Tuesday 
theSOth  day  of  this  month,  at  Saint  John,  At  elevon  o'clock  in  the  forenoon. 

I  also  send  you  a  list  of  the  Members  of  the  Court  Martial,  any  of  whom  you  will 
have  a  right  to  object  to,  at  the  time  of  assembling,  for  good  cause  shewn  to  the  >ati»> 
faction  of  th<)  other  Members  of  the  Court. 

I  also  send  you  a  list  of  the  witnesses  who  will  be  produced  against  you  on  the  part 
of  the  prosecution,  and  it  will  be  necessary  that  you  transmit  to  mo,  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible,  a  list  of  any  evidence  that  you  intend  producing  in  your  defence  nt  tho  trial. 

You  will  please  to  observe  also,  that  all  witnesses  must  attend  in  person,  as  no  affida- 
vita  can  be  received  in  evidence  on  either  side. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Shore,  as  Adjutant-General  of  the  Militia  Forces,  will  appear  ai 
the  Prosecutor,  by  order  of  His  Excellency  the  Coramander-in-Cliicf. 

You  will,  of  course,  take  care  to  be  in  attendance,  and  in  readiness  for  your  trial  at  th« 
time  appointed.  I  am.  Sir,  your  most  obedient  Servant, 

GEORGE  FREDERICK  STREET. 
To  Captain  Lewis  Burks,  of  the  1  Jvuigt  jidvoeiftt. 

In  Battalion,  of  the  Saint  John  > 
Begiment  City  Militia.  )  '  - 

On  my  receiving  the  above  Letters,  I  was  surprised  ;  hav- 
ing understood,  as  I  have  before  stated,  that  in  the  opinion  of 
the  Commanding  Officer  of  the  Battalion  to  which  I  had  for- 
merly been  attached,  that  I  was  no  longer  an  officer  in  the  Militia 
Service. — It  is  true,  I  had  never  been  released  from  the  arrest 
which  Colonel  Drury  had  directed  me  to  consider  myself  under, 
**  until  farther  orders'* ;  but  I  certainly  did  conceive,  that  if  any 
farther  orders  had  been  necessary,  enough  of  time  had  elapsed  to 
allow  the  appointment  of  the  Court  Martial  which  I  had  requested, 
and  the  bringing  forward  before  it,  the  charges,  which  were  made 
against  me  before  the  Officers,  who  met  at  Colonel  Drury 's  house. 

Having  read  over  the  charges  for  which  I  was  summoned  to 
answer  at  the  Court  Martial,  I  found  tbe^r  were  quite  different 


^ 


from  those  contAined  in  the  oomplaint  preferred  tgalnst  mo  t^ 
the  meeting  of  officers,  at  Colonel  Drury's  house. — But  the  cir* 
cuinstance$  which  I  have  stated  of  a  family  nature  between  my- 
self and  Mi^or  Peters,  will  partly,  I  believe,  account  for  my  be- 
ing brought  forward  for  trial  on  this  occasion.  Major  Peters 
wall  knew,  that  notwithstanding  the  appearance  of  a  Militia. 
Ohder  m  July,  I  would  not  retain  the  appointment  of  Captain 
ofa  company  to  serve  under  him  ;  he,  therefore,  with  the  view 
of  giving  me  as  much  trouble  as  possible,  and  knowing  that  a 
Cojurt  Martial  would  be  held  for  the  trial  of  Major  Scott  in  Oc- 
tober, sent  me  the  Muster  Roll  of  No.  1  company,  and  upon 
uiy  refusing  to  accept  it,  founded  the  charges  against  me,  which 
appeared  in  the  minutes  of  the  Court 

J  knew  well  from  the  nature  of  the  charges,  that  the  case  was 
one  of  a  frivolous  and  vexatious  kind  : — I  knew  also,  that  no 
power  existed,  that  could  then  compel  me  to  appear  at  any  Court 
Martial  as  an  officer: — I  was  well  aware  also,  that  the  individu- 
als whom  I  observed  notified  to  be  members  of  that  Court,  were 
not  compeient  to  try  me.  But  as  a  great  deal  of  excitement  had 
been  created  in  tlie  public  mind,  regarding  the  whole  of  this  bu- 
siness, and,  being  determined  that  nothing  on  my  part  should 
appear,  that  might  lead  any  one  to  believe,  that  I  wished  to  avoid 
a  public  mvestigation  of  my  conduct,  I  submitted  to  be  tried.     ' 

Having  thus  given  a  statement  of  the  circumstances  that 
led  to  my  appearuig  at  the  Court  Martial,  which,  at  the  time  it 
was  appointed,  was  intended  for  the  purpose  of  trying  Major 
Scott  only ;  it  only  remains  for  me  now,  to  make  some  brief  re- 
marks ou  the  characters  of  the  witnesses,  and  the  nature  of  the 
evidence  given  by  them. 

But,  bcibre  entering  into  this  detail,  it  might  be  well  to  state, 
that  when  tlic  warrant  for  holding  the  Court  was  read,  my 
name  did  not  aj^tpear  in  it  at  all ;  tlie  impression  on  my  mind 
therefore  was,  that  the  whole  of  the  proceedings  instituted 
against  me,  was  a  huddled  up  piece  of  business,  arising  altoge- 
ther from  personal  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  Adjutant-General, 
the  Inspecting  Field  Officer,  and  Major  Peters, — the  two  for- 
mer Gentlemen,  in  my  opmion,  having  been  induced  by  the  in- 
genuity of  the  latter,  to  become  parties  in  his  cause,  and  to  use 
their  influence  and  authority,  in  aiding  and  assisting  him  to- 
wards the  accomplishment  of  that  base,  mean,  and  revengeful 
design,  which  had  rankled  in  his  bosom,  ever  since  the  month 
of  October  1826, — nor  has  any  thing  since  occurred  to  alter 
this  opinion. 

With  regard  to  Major  Shore's  conduct  on  this  occasion ;  I 
undurstood  that  the  Court  Was  furnished  by  him  with  stationary, 
y^equtsite  for  the  purpose  of  minuting  down  its  proceedings.     As 


i 


* 


i 


I  was  ifnsible  that  the  Adjutnnt-General  was  well  paid  from 
the  Prpvince  Chest,  for  any  expence  he  might  be  at,  in  the  con- 
ducting of  military  affairs,  1  made  a  re(juest  to  the  Court,  that 
I  also  should  be  supplied  with  paper,  pens,  and  ink,  to  be  used 
in  conducting  my  defence  ;  to  this,  however,  the  Adjutant-Ge- 
neral objected,  and,  notwithstanding  th^  President  having  given 
his  opinion  that  1  should  be  so  furnished,  they  were  not  allowed 
iiie. 

This  circumstance,  though  triflinj'  in  itself,  (for  the  expence 
of  stationary  did  not  weigh  in  my  mmd  at  the  time)  convinced 
me  as  to  the  nature  of  the  Adjutant-General's  feelings  towards 
nie,  and,  as  to  the  conduct  which  I  might  expect  from  him, 
during  the  course  of  the  trial. 

".  It  is  a  matter  well  known  to  the  Public,  that  he  receives  from 
the  Province  .^'100  a  year  to  defray  the  expenccs  incurred  by 
him  in  the  performance  of  his  duty  as  Adjutant  General, — one 
part  ofthat  duty  certainly  is,  the  keeping  of  a  GeneualOrderly 
Book  ;  but  it  was  evident,  that  whatever  he  did  with  his  salary, 
no  part  of  it  was  expended  in  furnishing  himself  with  a  book  of 
that  description.  To  all  ni^n  any  way  acquainted  with  military 
aflairs,  this  circumstance  will  appear  rather  strange,  as  the  Ge- 
neral Orderly  Book  is  the  only  authentic  record  which  can  be 
referred  to,  on  all  occasions,  with  respect  to  the  names  of  olhcers, 
their  rank,  appointments,  promotions,  dates  of  commission,  &c. 
&c.  But  however  strange  this  may  appear,  it  is  nevertheless 
true,  that  when  called  upon  by  me  to  protluce  to  the  Court  the 
General  Order  for  the  appointment  of  Major  Peters  to  the  com- 
mand of  tile  1st  Battalion  City  Milita,  he  could  neither  show 
(although  he  said  he  was  in  possession  of  it)  the  original  order 
itself,  nor  the  General  Orderly  Book  containing  a  copy  thereof. 

Only  one  glance  at  the  manner  in  whicli  the  Adjutant-Gene- 
ral made  his  replies  to  my  questions,  is  sufficient  to  convince  any 
one,  that,  he  himself  clearly  sfiw  the  point  at  which  1  was  aiming, 
and  therefore  evaded  comino'to  it. — It  was,  whether  Ma'or  Pe- 
ters  were  appointed  or  not  to  ifie  Command  of  \he  1st  BaUalion  ; 
this  appointment,  however,  i  e  ingeniously  avoided  giving  any 
direct  evidence  about,  being  no  doubt  conscious  of  Major  Pe- 
ter's never  having  received  it. 

But  neglect  of  duty,  on  the  part  of  the  Adjutant-General,  was 
not  confined  to  this  instance  only,  in  not  having  provided  him- 
self with  an  Orderly  Book;  for,  upon  his  being  asked  whether, 
any  ordei'for  the  displacement  of  Captqin  Burns,  as  Adjutant, 
ever  appeared  in  any  newspaper,  he  answered, — that  it  had  not. 
Now  it  has  generally  been  considered  necessary  to  insert  all 
General  Militia  Orders  in  the  Royal  Gazette,  and,  in  fact  they 
are  i;ot  considered  as  being  put  regularly  in  operation  until  this 


oath 


Mil 
red 
this 
"  Oi 
I  do 
interi 


ongu 
ther 
Com 
Tl 
tei-s. 
with 
my 
shou 


■.\^h 


«« 


? 


be  done.  Ttie  Adjutant-General  himself,  in  the  course  of  car* 
rying  on  his  prosecution  against  Mnjor  Scott,  declared  upon  his 
oath,  that  Militia  General  Orders  were  to  be  considered  valid 
and  sufiiciently  made  public,  when  they  were  published  twice  in 
the  above  mentioned  paper.  Was  it  not  naturally  to  be  inferred 
from  this  statement,  that  if  such  orders  were  «o^so  published,  they 
could  not  1)2  considered  valid  ? — The  reason  assigned  by  the 
Adjutant-Genernl  for  my  displacement  not  having  been  regu- 
larly published,  was,  that  it  was  suppressed  from  motives  of 
delicacy.  It  would  really  appear  that  the  Gentleman's  conduct, 
from  the  commencement,  was  altogether  of  a  delicate  nuture, 
and  that  his  dvlicate  feelings,  even  up  to  the  present  moment, 
had  never  forsaken  him,  for  it  was  at  this  stage  of  his  examina- 
tion that  he  appeared  to  be  so  overcome  by  his  delicate  sensa- 
tions, (no  doubt  on  my  account)as  to  beg  of  the  Court  to  be  in- 
dulged with  a  chair.  Poor  man,  his  legs  which  I  have  under- 
stood, have  assisted  in  fu?iningi  on  several  occasions,  failed  him 
on  this,  when  only  put  in  requisition  to  support  him  im  a  stand- 
ing posture. 

But  not  only  did  the  Adjutant  General's  legs  fail  him  on  this 
occasion,  but  his  recollection  also  seemed  to  have  gone  a  "  wool 
gathering,"  whether  amongst  the  sheep  that  pastured  in  the 
vicinity  of  Furt  Eric,  on  the  banks  of  Stojii/  Creek,  or  among 
tnose  which  wandered  along  ihe  fertile  plains  of /V/;jc^  Edward 
Lland,  I  n:n  not  j)rej)ared  to  say.  At  all  events,  he  did  not 
recollect  whether  till  the  Companies  of  the  1st  Battalion  City 
Militia  were  furuiAhed  with  Captains  or  noc,  and  actually  refer- 
red the  Court  to  the  Commanding  Officer  for  information  on 
this  subject. — He  certainly  did  not  produce  any  entry  in  the 
*'  ORni:ia,v  Book."  which  could  throw  any  light  on  the  matter. 
I  do  not  notice  this  circumstance,  as  feeling  myself  personally 
interested  in  it ;  but  I  think  it  cannot  fail  to  impress  every  person 
enquiring  into  the  circumstances,  that  the  public  money  of  the 
Province  is  misapj)lied  and  squandered,  so  far  as  it  regurds  Mi- 
litia Officers'  salaries. — The  very  idea,  of  an  Adjutant  General's 
being  appointed  to  manage  these  matters  at  Head  Quarter^) — 
receiving  ^100  a  year,  and  next  being  able,  on  an  important  oc- 
casion like  thifj,  to  produce  a  Genkral  Orderly  Book,  or  the 
original  order  itself,  nor  even  to  state  from  his  recollection,  whe- 
ther the  different  companies  of  Battalions  were  supplied  wich 
Commanding  Officers  or  not, — is  preposterous. 

The  next  witness  brought  before  the  Court,  was  Major  Pe- 
tei-s.  As  I  consider  him  as  having  been  the  identical  person 
with  whom  the  charges  then  preferred  against  me  origmated, 
my  readers  must  excuse  me  if  my  remarks  upon  his  evidence 
should  be  somewhat  lengthy.     Indopd,  were  it  not  that  1  now 


it 


m  i 


n 


% 


1 1 


.    "  y  i  '  .  '  .  ■■  ^^  ,•.  ■ 

htA  myself  pledged  to  ky  before  the  public,  a  full  stntement  at 
the  circumstances  connected  with  my  trial,  I  should  consider 
both  Major  Peters  and  his  -evidence,  as  being  unworthy  of  notice — 
in  fact,  cdmor  ht^low  contempt  itself.  His  evidence,  throughout, 
is  a  tissue  of  i^  brications.  In  order  to  make  this  assertion  good, 
I  shSll  notice  the  replies  to  the  questions  put  to  him,  both  by 
the  Court  and  myself,  seriatim. 

Miyor  Peters  wds  asked  whether  I  still  belonged  to  the  Bat- 
fiUlion  of  which  he  wat  Major?  he  replied  I  did.  This  reply 
only  goes  to  confirm  div?  statement  which  I  have  already  given, 
respecting  the  motives  vr hich  operated  on  the  part  of  the  Major 
Sn  bringing  me  before  this  Court;  for  he  must,  as  well  as  myself, 
fe..*e  previously  understood  his  Commanding  Officer's  (Colonel 
Drury)  opinion  upon  this  subject.  Bu'-  besides  this,  it  will 
appear,  on  a  perusal  of  Lieutenant  King's  evidence,  that  he 
Major  Peters,  had  explicitly  stated  to  bim,  long  before  this  pe- 
riod, that  I  (Captain  B.)  "  was  no  longer  an  officer," — and  that 
I  "  was  remo^'ed  from  the  service."'  Now,  if  we  are  to  attach 
an  equal  degree  of  crediability  to  the  evidence  given  by  Lieu- 
tenant King  as  we  do  to  that  of  Major  Peters^  (who  by  the  bye 
■was  a  person  interested,)  what  are  we  to  think  of'th^^  flat  cosv 
tradiction  which  wns  brought  forth  between  them  ? 

A  question  put  subsequently  to  the  Major  by  the  Court, 
brought  out  his  ignorance  of  Military  afiairs,  most  confound- 
ly. — lie  was  asked  what  rank  I  held  in  the  Battalion: — his  reply 
was,  the  rank  of  Captain  and  Adjutant.  Now  I  will  venture  to 
say,  that  if  tlie  records  of  the  Horse  Guards,  or  those  of  any 
Acljutant  General's  Office  belonging  to  the  British  Government 
were^eaiched,  no  officer's  name  will  be  ibuiul  tlicrein  as  holding 
the  rank  of  A(ljtUani-^*\\e  fact  is,no  such  thing  is  known  in  the 
service  as  the  rafi^  of  Adjutant.  If  Major  P.  was  not  previ- 
ously acquainted  with  this,  he  is  now  welcome  to  the  informa- 
tibn. 

The  next  question  put  to  the  Major  does  not  appear  to  mond 
the  matter,  but  on  the  contrary,  places  it  in  a  more  ridiculous 
point  of  view. — It  was  put  by  the  Judge  Advocate,  who,  whate- 
ver his  abilities  may  be  as  a  Barrister,  seemed  to  be  totally 
unacquainted  with  the.  teclmicalities  belonging  to  Military 
t'lctics. — "  Has  he  held  ihat  rank  ever  since  ?  It  would  puzzle 
even  a  Philadelphia  Lawyer  to  understand  the  olyect  which  the 
learned  gentleman  had  in  view,  in  putting  this  (question,  for  the 
youngest  drummer  of  any  regiment  knows  tha'.,  the  tertr  rank 
may  be  applied  to  a  .pers<m  fadding  a  Captaia's  Commission  gt 
thst  of  any  Subalteiii.  O^icer,  b'^t  can  not  apply  to  a  person 
who  is  an  Adjutant,  rJtbaugh  he  might  be  an  A<ljutant  with  Uie 
mk  of  Captain,  'or  Subgltern.     'Yn>A  truth  is,  a  Captaincy  or 


4  ;;.  •    ■■ 


99 

Subalterncy  is  »  rank^  bat  an  Adjutancy  is  hoiE.  The  repty  to 
this  question  is  ks  absurd  as  the  question  itself.  It  evidentl;^ 
shows,  that  neither  did  the  Judge  Advocate  and  Major  Peters 
understand  one  another,  nor  did  they  understand  themselves.—. 
The  answer  was  "as  Captain  arid  not  as  Adjutant."  The  ques^ 
tion  would  imply,  that  the  Judge  Adv.oeate  thought  there  mightl 
be  such  a  thing  in  the  army  as  a  ranh  of  Captain  and  Adjutant* 
whilst  the  answerof  the  Major  implies,  that  there  is  a  rank  of 
Captain  and  a  rank  of  Adjutant  also. 

The  next  fault  (not  to  give  it  a  worse  name)  which  I  shall 
notice  is,  that  which  arises  from  t.j  inconsistency  which  evi* 
dently  appears  between  the  testimony  given  by  Major  Peteri, 
and  that  giveii  by  Lieutenant  King.  Th3  question  to  which  I 
refer,  is  "  what  rank  did  he  (Captain  B.)  then  hold  ?" — Answer, 
*'  The  rank  of  Captain.**  It  must  surely  appear  to  every  on« 
to  be^a  mysterious  matter,  how  I  could  hold  the  rank  of  Captain 
and  still  be  no  officer, — that  in  the  opinion  of  Major  Peters  I 
was  not  an  officer,  is  clearly  shewn  by  the  evidence  of  Lieutenant . 
King. 

As  the  reader  will  perceive  from  the  Minutes,  that  lopenly 
charged  the  Major  with  prevarication,  I  feel  myself  bound,  in' 
going  through  his  evidence,  to  take  notice  of  every  incident  cal* 
culated  to  bear  me  out  in  having  done  so. 

I  therefore  beg  leave  to  observe,  on  his  cross  examination,  the 
inconsis 
that 

Peters  considered  me  an  officer. — The  question  I  refer  to  is— - 
"  Did  you  after  receiving  that  communication  (viz.  Shore's 
Letter  of  the  26th  October,)  consider  Captain  Burns  as  being 
an  officeT  in  the  Militia  ?" — Ans.  "  I  did*" — Having  previously 
remarked  on  this  circumstance,  it  is  only  necessary  now  to  say, 
that  the  Major,  through  thick  and  thin,(and  on  -ja$h.too)  appear- 
ed determuied  to  support  what  he  himself  was  sensible  wus  not 
the  fi»ct. 

I  am  aware  it  must  be  tedions  for  my  readers  to  follow  me  over 
the  same  ground  so  often,  but  having  received  such  a  severe 
reprimand  from  the  Prosecutor,  in  reference  to  this  matter,  I 
hope  I  shall  be  excused. — Another  question  was — "  Did  you, 
on  any  occasion,  state  to  an  officer  or  officers  of  the  City  Militia, 
that  Captain  Burns  was  no  longer  an  office"  and  that  he  could 
not  be  considered  as  such  upon  public  occasions  ?  Ans.  "  I  did 
not." — As  Lieutenant  King  was  the  offioer  to  whom  he  did  say 
so,  I  must  refer  ac^ain  to  bis  evidence,  in  order  to  Mtisfy  my 
readers  diat  I  had  good  grounds  for  charging  the  Major  with 
wilful  prevarication.  It  is  impossible  to  consider  it  a  mistake, 
or  inadyerteney,  on  his  part,  a£iter  the^uer  bftd  been  so  fre- 


nsisteiicy  which  again  appeared,  between  his  statement  and 
of  Lieutenant  King's,  respectmg  whether  or  not  Major 


i^ 


^ 


^    1 


I 


:  * 


■A'". 


m 


40 


!!.'<■/ 


t 


i'S 


-%: 


t 


•jueiitly  adverted  to, — Majocci*s  famed  "  non  ml  recofdo,"  was 
child's  play,  when  compared  with  the  Major's  "  /  did  tiot" — 
The  Major,  however,  appears  to  have  hail  some  sjnce  of"  Ma- 
jocci's  candour  about  bim,"  nevertheless — for  he  entirely  yi'/'^fo/ 
whether  he  had,  or  had  not  had,  any  cominuuication  with  his 
Commanding  Officer,  respecting  his  appointing  me  to  Nd.  1 
Company. 

His  ignorance  of  military  matters,  as  well  as  his  recollection 
of  ppst  events,  appears  also  to  have  been  of  a  very  accommoda- 
ting nature,  regarding  the  meeting  of  Field  Officers  at  Colonel 
Drury's  house. — If  the  evidence  given  by  Colonel  Drury  be  here 
referred  to,  the  I'eader  will  see,  tliat  he  explicitly  declared,  that 
it  voas  not  a  Court  of  Enquin/. 

The  next  subject  matter  in  the  Major's  evidence  which  I  shall 
notice,  is,the  ingenuity  he  displayed  in  endeavouring  modestly  to 
decline  taking  tne  credit  of  being  a  party  concerned  in  prcler- 
ring  the?  complaint  originally  made  to  the  Commander-in-Chi'sf 
against  me. — It  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  tliis  point. — I*"  wi!' 
be  sufiicient  to  insert  the  copy  of  what  th"  Major  in  his  no  1 
me  (see  page  31)  styled  a  Militia  General  Order,  and  which  :■« 
this  time  he  terms  "  an  official  communication."  Will  the  mo.st 
sceptical,  after  looking  at  these  things,  any  longer  doubt  the  falli- 
bility of  human  nature? — I  think  not.  It  is  plain  we  are  liable 
to  lose  our  recollections,  and  to  change  our  scutimenls.  A  copy 
of  the  coiiimunication  referred  to  appears  on  page  31. 

I  le'.ve  my  readers  to  find  out  for  themselvivs,  wliethcr  it  was  a 
Militia  General  Order,  or  an  official  communication  ;  for  my 
part,  I  have  never  conceived  it  to  be  either  the  one  or  the  other. 
— At  all  e\'ents,  ifwe  are  to  let  the  Majorgo  clear  of  the  impli- 
cation of  prevarication  in  this  iustance,  we  nuist  'I'^cossarily  lay 
it  at  the  di»or  of  the  Adjutant-General  himself,  for  the  words 
"Inspecting  Field  Officer  and  yourself,"  fly  (laoctly  in  the  face 
oV those,  "  a  complaint  preferred  against  him  by  the  Inspecting 
Field  Officer."  Whether  or  not  these  gentlemen  knowing  that 
1  was  in  possession  of  the  letters,  previously  uuderstood  oneano- 
ther,  and  adopted  this  plan  of  getting  over  the  ijiconsistency,  I 
dare  not  say. — I  however  have  my  opinion  on  the  matter,  and 
leave  my  readers  to  form  theirs. 

In  Major  Peters'  next  reply  he  stated,  that  he  did  not  "  know 
any  thigg  ofit"(viz.  the  complaint)  until  h^  attended  at  Colonel 
Drury's  house. — Those  who  can  believe  this,  after  reading  Col. 
Loves  letter,  v;hich  I  have  just  referred  to,  must  be  possessed 
of  faith  of  just  about  as  easy  a  description  as  that  of  the  Major's 
own  recollection  is. 

Notwithstanding  I  was  rebuked  openly  for  having  delayed 
•tliQ  bnfiiiie4Nl  of  the  Court  unnecessarily,  I  think  it  will  appear  to 


■-^•.VJ!,J 

i'-  ..,,■ 

Ofthl 

the  Ma 
fit  drill 
strange 
on,  wl 
Battall{ 
But 
instanci 
of  it,  I 
''ly,  { 
giant  a 


\ 


,"  was  ' 

wr— 

.i'  Ma- 

forgot 

\i\\  liis 

Nd.  I 

lection 
imoda- 
Uolonel 
be  hei'i? 
id,  that 

1 1  shall 

lesUy  to 
prcl'er- 

in-C}n3f 

— 1^  wil' 

;  no     1' 

vhicli  :i'« 

the  most 

the  t'alh- 
e  liable 
A  copy 

r  it  was  a 
fur  rny 
le  other. 
le  impli- 
.u'ily  lay 
le  words 
the  face 
[ispectiiig 
wing  that 
oneano- 
istency,  I 
Liter,  and 

ot  "know 
t  Colonel 
ding  Col. 
possessed 
e  Major's 

delayed 
ttp[)ear  to 


.V  -,    .  41 

every  candid  person,  that  my  questions  Were  necessary,  tnd 
pretty  close  to  the  point.    It  was  this  circumstance,  I  veriU  be- 
lieve, which  made  the  witnesses,  particularlv  Peters  and  Shore* 
shew  a  disposition  to  be  impatient. — It  diet  not  suit  their  pur-, 
pose  to  have  the  v:}iole  truth  pointed  out.     Regarding  whether 
or  rot  the  Major  had  any  correspondence  with  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  or  with  the  Adjutant-General,  regarding  tiie  subject 
matter  of  the  complaint,  he  evidently  appeared  embarrassed —    ' 
He  said  "  the  impression  on  mi/ mind  is,  that  no  correspondence 
took  place>  &c.  &c."  (sec  the  reply  itself.)     It  is  a  common  say- 
ing, that  consistent  story-tellers  should  have  good  memories. — I 
have  previously  shown  pretty  clearly,  that  the  Major  was  not  a 
consistent  truth-teller. — If  the  render  refer  to  the  latter  part  of 
his  evidence,  he  will  even  perceive  that  lie  was  not  a  consistent 
story-teller,  for  he  acknowledges  having  received  communicati- 
ons fi^ni  the  Commander-in-Chief  and  the  Adjutant-General, 
also. — Here  the  cloven  toot  cannot  be  concealed.— -O  tempora ! 
O  mores !  » 

I  shall  conclude  the  sifling  of  the  Major's  evidence  by  ad* 
verting  merely  to  one  other  question,  viz  r-^- 

Q.  Did  you  n\ake  any  complaint  to  Colonel  Love  respecting 
the  conduct  of  Adjutant  Buriis  ? — (mark  the  reply,  for  it  is 
worthy  of  the  Major.)  ri,.-  .,  •»  f.*  . 

A.  I  did  not,  &c. 

How  will  this  report  tally  with  the  statement  made  in  Colonel 
Shore's  letter  to  the  Adjutant  4' 

In  closing  my  remarks  on  the  conduct  of  Major  Peters, 
throughout  this  business  ;  and  in  order  to  shew  that  he  was  not 
governed  by  any  principle,  either  of  honesty  or  militi\ry  disci- 
pline, I  may  reier  my  readers  to  his  letter  to  me,  wherein  he 
states,  the  impossibility  of  his  attending  s.3  Parade,  on  the  fn'st 
df  •*  t*f  Drill,  (182(},)  in  consequence  of  his  having  to  go  to  Gage 
"  >  vj.jciulto  the  subse>]uent  complaint  hemade  to  Colonel  Love, 
i  '.  1^;  having  dismissed  the  men  at  so  early  an  hour  on  that  day. 
ii  j>/.  /  would  ask  any  man  acquainted  with  the  usual  state 
of  thi  ./eather  in  Saint  John,  at  that  season  of  the  year,  could 
the  Major  be  a  judge,  he  being  at  Gage  Town, whether  it  was  a 
fit  drill  day,  or  not? — and  his  conduct  ^ill  appear  still  more 
strange,  if  we  take  into  consideration  the  expressions  of  satisfacti- 
on, which  he  subsequently  made  at  my  having  dismissed  the 
Battalion  at  the  time  I  did. 

But  to  wind  up  the  history  of  the  Major's  conduct*  in  this 

instance,  for  I  dare  say  my  readers,  as  well  as  myself,  are  tired 

j>    Off  it,  I  may  in  conclusion  state,  that  he  (Major  Peters,)  did  wil- 

i'ly,  fraiidulendy,  and  contrary  to  the  Law  of  the  Province, 

giant  ft  Certiiicate  in  favor  of  SergeanthMtijor  Thomas  -iSasI^^ 


.% 


J 


42 


» 


'^s 


eertifyine,  that  he  hadperformed  the  duty  of  Sergcant-Major  to 
the  1st  Battalion  fcr  that  memorable  year  1826.  Whilst  at  the 
same  time,  it  is  well  known  to  the  public,  that  he  the  Sergeant- 
Major  Thomas  Smith,  was  either  in  jail,  or  within  the  limits  there- 
of, at  the  suit  of  the  Major's  own  brother,  on  the  days  of  Drill 
and  Inspection  for  that  year.  The  fact  is,  that  I  had  to  appoint 
Sergeant  William  Smith,  of  the  Grenadier  Company,  to  act  as 
Sergeant  Major  on  those  days — the  place  fixed  upon  for  Drill 
and  Inspection  being  at  least  two  miles  distant  from  the  Jail. 
And  in  order  that  I  may  be  still  farther  borne  out  in  my  opinion, 
respecting  the  defects  in  the  present  system  of  Militia  Laws,  and 
their  mode  of  being,  put  in  execution,  this  Certificate  of  the 
Major's  (which  by  the  bye  the  Law  requires  shall  be  signed 
only  by  the  Commanding  Officer,)  which  the  Major  could  not 
be,  (he  t  •^'^  at  the  same  time  in  Gagetown,)  was  the  means  of 
procuring,  ■  -^he  Governor  and  Council,  a  warrant  for  the 
payment  of  t^.  jergeant-  Major's  salary  for  thatvear,  and  which 
has  since  been  paid  to  Thomas  Smith,  by  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Province. 

My  remarks  on  the  evidence  on  Major  Peters  being  so  length- 
ly,  I  do  not  conceive  it  necessary,  to  enter  far  into  that  of  the 
other  witnesses,  as  I  believe  the  Major  was  the  sole  cause  of  my 
being  brought  into  Court. 

With  regard  to  the  evidence  of  Colonel  Drury,  it  will  appear, 
evident  to  any  impartial  man,  that  in  his  opinion,  (whether  the 
Court  of  itself  was  competent  or  not,)  not  even  the  Governor 
himsftlf  had  the  power  to  bring  me  before  this  Court  for  trial,  for 
he  did  not  consider  me  to  be  an  officer  of  the  Battalion,,after  ha- 
ving been  displaced  as  Adjutant.  And,  I  should  not  be  doing 
justice  to  my  own  feelings  on  this  occasion,  were  I  to  omit  sta- 
ting, that  the  Colonel's  conduct  towards  me,  was  consistent  and 
gentlemanly  throughout,  both  with  regard  to  the  advice  he  gave 
me  previous  to  my  trial,  and  also,  as  respects  the  candid  and  open 
manner,  in  which  he  gave  his  evidence  in  Court. — I  trust  my 
readers  will  find  no  difficulty  in  forming  this  conclusion,  that,  if 
that  dependance,  which  ought  to  be  placed  on  Colonel  D's  evi- 
dence be  admitted,  it  will  at  once  destroy  the  legality  of  the  pro- 
ceedings from  first  to  last,  and  invalidate  all  the  evidence,  given 
at  the  time,  either  by  Major  Peters,  or  by  those  others  whom  I 
suspect,  have  been  induced  to  lend  their  aid  in  prosecuting  me 
at  this  time. 

As  to  the  evidence  given  by  Colonel  Love,  its  inconsistency, 

expressed  in  the  last  clause  of  the  letter  which  contains  his 

f  complaint  against  me,  must,  to  every  person,  be  as  clear  as  the 

sun  shining  at  noon-day.     In  the  former,  he  states,  upon  oath, 

.tbAt  he  **dxd  not  k^v  that  Captain  JBurus  did  endeavour  to 


4S 


■^— ^ 


ajor  to 
,  at  the 
geant- 
sthere- 
f  Drill 
ippoint 
>  act  as 
r  Drill 
le  Jail, 
pinion, 
wSf  and 
of  the 
signed 
uld  not 
leans  of 
for  the 
d  which 
r  of  tho 

length- 
at  of  the 
se  of  my 

I  appear, 
jther  the 
jovernor 
trial,  for 
after  ha- 
be  doing 
omit  sta- 
tent  and 
e  he  gave 
and  open 
trust  my 
n,  that,  if 
I  D's  evi- 
)f  the  pro- 
ice,  given 
s  whom  I 
cuting  me 

nsistency, 
itains  his 
ear  as  the 
pon  oath, 
eavour  to 


to  breed  a  party  in  the  Regiment;"  while,  in  his  official  leiter 
of  the  26tUJfc^tember,  1826,  (see  page  30,)  he  says,  that  I  did 
all  in  my  "power  to  create  a  party  in  the  Regiment."  Any  re- 
mark upon  this,  1  should  conceive,  would  be  offering  an  insult 
to  the  understanding  of  my  readers.  Whether  I  did,  or  did 
not,  endeavour  to  persuade  tlie  Junior  Officers  to  absent  them- 
selves from  the  Annual  Dinner,  is  now  of  no  consequence.  If 
I  had  advised  them  to  that  effect,  and  even  if  some  Field  Offi- 
cers had  been  governed  by  the  same  advice,  the  public  would 
not  have  had  their  feelings  hurt,  by  hearing  that  Colonel  Love, 
and  his  Aid-de-Campr  Major  Wedderburn,  on  their  return  from 
the  Loch  Lomond  inspection — I  do  not  say,  "  fell  among 
thieves" — but,  either  from  the  arduous  toils  of  the  day,  or  from 
partaking  too  largely  of  those  good  thingSt  offered  to  people  at 
an  "  Annual  Dinner"  did  certainly  fall  among  burnt  stumps, 
spruce  trees,  &c.  notwithstanding,  their  having  been  regularly 
mounted  in  Military  Field  Martial  equipment  f  It  was  well  for 
them,  on  that  occasion,  that  Mrs.  Tyson  happenetfto  keep  a 
tavern  near  the  scene  of  their  disaster,  as  she,  in  duty  bound, 
particularly  so  to  persons  of  their  rank,  exerted  herself  to  af- 
ford them  such  accommodation,  as  the  imlure  of  their  circum- 
stances requh-ed.  And,  as  sooa  as  possible  after  they  had  par- 
tially recovered  from  their  indisposition,  being  fearful  that  they 
could  not,  even  after  being  ag?iin  regularly  mounted,  miiintain 
their  seats  in  the  saddle,  she,  very  good  naturedly,went  and  pro- 
vided an  ox  and  team,  to  forward  them  on  their  march  to  Saint 
John.  It  is  lamentable  to  state,  that  the  Aid-de-campt  being 
Secretary  to  the  Agricultural  Society,  and  next  day  being  ap- 
pointed tor  a  meeting  thereof,  he  was  under  the  necessity,  from 
ins  exertions  in  military  affairs  on  the  previous  day,  and  the 
consequent  disfigurement  of  his  countenance,  to  employ  a  bar- 
ber's journeymen  to  paint  the  same  for  the  occasion,  in  order 
that  he  might,  with  decency,  present  his  report,  and  put  on  "  as 
good  a  face"  as  he  possibly  could,  for  the  purpose  of  meeting 
His  Excellency  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  to  bear  his  speech — 
and,  no  doubt,  with  a  view  also  of  securing  the  Province  grant 
for  ^100,  next  year,  for  his  services  as  Agricultural  Secretary. 

With  regard  U)  the  evidences  given  by  Adjutant  Robinson 
and  Lieutenant  King,  I  merely  take  notice  of  them,  out  of  re- 
spect for  those  gen' 'cmen ;  whom  I  conceive,  up  to  the  present 
moment,  to  have  been  totally  unconnected  with  the  collision 
which  was  evidently  entered  into,  against  me,  by  Major  Peters, 
Colonel  Love,  and  Adjutant-General  Shore. 

It  now  only  remains  for  me  to  notice  the  remarks, which  were 
published  along  with  His  Excellency's  confirmation  of  the  sen- 
tence of  the  Court  Martial,  a  coi)y  of  which  is  us  follows  : 


) 


/  ■ 


u 


■■%■■ 


MILITIA  GENERAL  ORDERS. 

tit  a  CtoMrkl  Oowrt  Martwl  hold  at  St.  John,  on  the  80th  October,  1827,  «m  v- 
«i|Bed  Csotain  LEWIS  BlTRNS,  of  the  First  Battalion  of  the  Eegiuiaot  of  Saifit 
John  City  Militia,  agoo  the  ludermentioned  diarges,  viz : 

First.  "  For  contemptuous  and  improper  condaet  aa  an  Officer,  in  rofiisin^  to  re* 
*'  ceive  the  Muster  Boll  of  No.  1  Battalion  Cdmpanjr,  on  the  first  of  September  instant, 
**  when  handed  to  him  by  the  Adjutant  of  the  {Battalion  by  order  of  the  Major  Gotn* 
'Vmaodinff.  He  the  said  Lewis  Burns  having  been  duly  att&cbed  to  the  command  of 
**  the  said  company  by  a  previons  order  for  that  purpose  duly  issued. 

liaoond.  **  For  nealect  of  duty,  as  an  Officer,  in  not  taking  charge  and  command  of 
"  the  said  con:>>any  when  duly  appointed  thereto,  and  not  perl'orroing  tho  duties  kelong- 
"  ins  to  that  office,  asToquired  by  the  Laws  for  the  organization  and  regulation  of  the 
**  BSniitia. 

fhird.  "  For  disobedience  of  orders  as  an  Officer,  in  not  ordering  or  callinf  out  the^ 
**  said  company  for  Drill  and  Inspection,  in  the  present  year,  at  the  several  days  and 
'<  times  for  that  purpose  duly  named  and  appointed,  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  said 
"  MiKtia  Laws.'^  .^  -       -rr 

Upon  which  charge*  the  Court  came  to  the  following  decision  > 
The  Coun  having  maturely  weighed  and  considered  all  ihat  has  bean  adduced  inuip- 
portoftbe  pnngtcution,  as  woU  as  what  has  beau  brought  forwEird  on  the  defence,  arok 
ef  opinion  that  (ue  prisoner.  Captain  Lewis  Burns,  is  guilty  of  the  first  charge  prefer- 
red against  him.— And  the  CouVt  do  further  find  that  the  said  prisoner.  Captain  Lewie 
Bnrtis,  is  also  gdllty  of  the  second  charge  profbrred  against  him. — And  the  Court  do 
further  find  tha^  the  said  prisoner.  Captain  Lewia  Burns,  is  also  guilty  of  tho  third 
charge  preferred  asaiuat  hira  in  breach  of  the  Militia  Law,  and  of  his  duty  as  a  Militia 
Officer,  and  they  du  therefor*  adjadge  him  the  said  Captain  Lewis  Burns  to  be  Ca> 
ehiered. 

fhe  Court  having  performed  their  duty  of  awarding  punishment  tn  strict  conformity 
to  the  Militia  Law,  which  deprives  theoiof  all  discretionary  power,  beg  leave  to  ob- 
serve, that  although  the  conduct  of  Captain  Lewis  Burns,  dn  the  first  day  before  the 
Court,  was  highly  contemptuo.^,  irregular,  and  improper,  yet  since  ihat  period  hia 
conduct  has  been  regular  and  correct,  and  the  Court  boing  of  opinion  that  his  fault  has 
arisen  npore  from  error  in  judgniant  than  from  premeditated  intent  to  disobey  orders, 
beg  leave  to  recommend  him  to  the  ikvorable  consideration  of  His  Excellency. 

His  Excellency  Uib  Lieutenant-Oovernor  and  Commander-in-Chief  has  been  pleased 
to  approve  and  confirm  the  finding  and  sentence  of  the  Court. 

His  Excellency  the  Lieutenant-Oovernor  and  Commander-in-Chief  did  not  fail  to 
take  Under  his  consideration,  the  recommendation  which  the  Court  made  of  Captain 
Burns  through  their  President  to  His  Exiiejlency's  favourable  consideration. 

Captain  Barns  having  availed  himself  of  the  adjourned  opportunity  afforded  to  him,  of 
defending  himself  against  the  charges  which  have  been  preferred  against  him,  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief in  eonfirming  the  fiading  and  sentence  of  the  Court,  might  not  have  felt 
disposed  to  make  any  observations  on  Captain  Burns'  conduct  at  the  opening  of  tho 
prr- codings;  but,  brought  before  His  Excellency  as  an  object  of  mercy,  His  Excellency 
is  forced  to  revert  to  the  highly  contemptuous,  irregular  and  hnproper  manner  in  which 
Captain  Burns  then  eonducted  himself,  as  reasons  which  preclude  the  exercise  of  any 
morcii'ul  comsideration^ 

It  cannot  be  iioagined  that  Captain  Burns  was  ignorant  of  the  rules  ffnd  customs  of 
Military  Service,  or  under  any  miscnnccption  as  to  its  forms  aad  usages — Ho  is  undor- 
ctood  to  have  bean  trained  in  the  ranks  of  the  British  Army,  in  a  statiou  in  which  ha 
must  UavoobSffvadsnbordination,  respect  and  due  decorum ;  and  in  which  he  should 
have  learnt  abow  all  things  what  is  due  to  the  dignity  of  a  Tribunal  such  as  that  which 
he  has  treated  W9  contemptuously. 

Uia  JSfcudoncy  tharefora  directs  that  the  foregoing  charges  preferred  against  Cap* 
tain  Lewii  Burns,  togSstber  with  the  finding  and  sentence'  of  tho  Court  and  His  Excel- 
lency's i^iproval  thereof,  shall  be  entered  in  the  General  Order  Book  of  every  Battalion 
in  ttia  FroviaM,  and  raad  a.,  tha  head  of  each  Battalibn  and  Dttachmant  at  their  noxt 
(■•aanl  iMpa^Mw. 

.  JBy  ordnr  of  Hit  Excellency  the  Commander-in-Chief, 

^H.%  6E0UGE  SHORE,  ddjutanl-Gencral. 


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ib  tihe  ftbove  General  Orde",  as  I  havt  maide 
fi>«ely.oii  the  conduct  of  those  Oifieei's,  who 
/ourt  Martial  as  witnesses,  'tis  my  duty  toi  state, 
that  at  least  four  of  the  Officers  who  composed  that  (Lour^  vU»- 
Tho  President,  (Colonel  Drury,)  Colonel  Simonds,  Major  Anr 
derson,  and  Captain  Fl^Uxerty — the  greater  por^  c^  whom,  are 
well  known  to  have  seen  some  service — were  exposed  to  U»e 
passing  of  the  sentence  above  alluded  to,  as,  in  their  opinion,  I 
was  not  guilty  of  any  one  of  the  charges  preferred  agaiuot  me- 

My  defence  was  closed  at  II  o'clock  on  the  lOtli  of  Novem- 
ber, but  in  consequence  of  these  gentlemen  opposing  the  deci- 
sion of  the  Court,  for  my  being  cashiered ;  the  business  was.dis- 
cussed  till  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,with  closed  doors ;  and,  in 
consequence  of  this  discussion,  it  was  agreed,  that  in  transmit- 
ting the  decision  of  Court  to  His  Excellency,  the  matter  should 
be  recommended  to  his  favorable  consideration. 

Whether  this  recommendation  ever  accompanied  the  sen- 
tence of  the  Court  Martial  to  the  Commander-in-Chief,  I  know 
not — but  if  it  did^  it  would  appear  by  the  remarks  made  upon 
the  sentence,  and  which  appear  in  the  above  General  Order,  to 
have  been  converted  to  a  purpose,  totally  different  from  the  in- 
tention of  the  Court. 

I  have  conversed  with  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  bavc  pre- 
viously held,  and  (Jo  now  hold  Commissions  in  His  Majesty's 
service,  on  the  subject  of  the  confirmation  of  the  sentence, 
who,  to  a  man,  gave  it  as  their  opinion,  that  in  consequence 
of  my  being  cashiered)  any  remarks,  from  the  Commanaer-in" 
Chief, were  altogether  unnecessary,  and  highly  improper.  Had 
the  sentence  of  the  Court  been  a  reprimand^  the  case  would 
have  been  different,  as  the  reprimand  would,  of  course  have  ap- 
peared in  a  Militia  General  Order,  and  been  published  in  the 
Newspapers,  according  to  Law ;  but  the  above  Militia  Ordtfr 
appears  to  contain  a  reprimand  after  I  had  been  cashiered, 
which  is  certainly  a  deviation  from  all  MiHtfiry  discipline 
which  I  have  ever  heard  of,  in  the  British  Army. 

The  Commander-in-Chief  never  had,  to  my  knowledge,  any 
•  occasion  to  entertain  any  personal  antipathy  toward^me ;  nor  do 
I  believe  he  now  entertains  any.  But,  whether  he  has  allowed 
himself  to  be  imposed  upon  in  tliis  case,  from  the  report  or 
insinuations  of  the  piiosEcuTon  ex  officio^  it  is  difficidt  to  tell. 
One  thing  is  certain, — I  was  an  Officer  in  the  Saint  John  Mi- 
'  litia,  previous  to  His  administration  in  this  Province,  and  it  is 
not  at  all  unlikely,  that  when  it  is  placed  in  other  hands,  I  may 
be  again  called  upon  to  accept  a  Commission  in  the  Provincial 
MiUtia,  "hen  it  will  be  for  me  to  judge,  whether  I  will  accept 
of  it  or  not. 


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